Birth, and Rebirth 02: College Time Blues
by cpneb
Summary: High School is over: it wasn’t the end of the world. It's both a Birth and a ReBirth of emotions, friendships, and ways of life; but, isn’t that what college is all about? It’s time for everyone to have the College Time Blues. Chapter 5 is here: now
1. C1: Hair today, gone tomorrow

_**Birth, and ReBirth 2: College Time Blues.**_

Disclaimer/Author's Notes: Kim Possible and all the characters of the show are owned by the Disney Company. Original lyrics to the songs referenced in this story and the music are the property of the respective authors, artists and labels. All other characters can be blamed on the author (he, however, is not responsible for all of their actions at all times, being barely responsible for himself most of the time).

This is a strictly not-for-profit, just-for-fun work.

Enjoy! Please read and review.

--

**A/N Forward: **

High School is over for our heroes Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable, and it wasn't the end of the world.

It _**was**_ the end of high school, however, and the beginning of a totally new adventure for them and all of their friends and families...and foes.

It's a Birth of new emotions, friendships, and ways of life, and a ReBirth of old emotions, friendships, and ways of life; but, after all, isn't that what college is all about?

It's time for everyone leaving high school, and others, to have the _**College Time Blues**_….

--

**Chapter 1: Hair today, gone tomorrow**

--

Dr. Rachel Load was singing as she threw clay.

Well, not totally, literally, threw clay: she was making a pot for Jocelyn when she heard her husband's car pull into the garage.

She counted doors: three.

'He's using his walker again,' she smiled. She had been more than scared when the Lorwardians came, but not for the same reason as everyone else:

She was afraid that her husband wouldn't be able to get his MS medication refills since they weren't filled by local pharmacies but by specialty locations, and she had already seen the results of him off of it for even a short time: bedridden, his legs paralyzed as if he were having another exacerbation.

He opened the door and rolled in, and she wiped her hands as she stood and headed out of her studio.

"Hey, Rach," Ryan called out and held up a bag filled to overflowing.

"What's in the bag, hon?"

"Texas cantaloupe and ruby-red grapefruit: your favorites," and Rachel looked up at his head, and she sighed and smiled at the same time.

"You got a haircut," she laughed, and Dr. Ryan Load grinned. He knew that she knew that, whenever he brought these items home, he had just been to the barbershop next to the fruit stand.

"Looks good, too," she added, thinking about the fact that he hadn't had a haircut since mid-May, before the Lorwardian 'sitch,' as it was now known. Four weeks had driven her husband, the normally almost-anally-tight-scheduled man, crazy because he was unable to control his own schedule: he'd had to wait an entire _**week**_ longer than normal to get to his barber, and that was because he was moving the tools he'd recovered. Both the barber and the fruit stand moved to entirely new locations after theirs were damaged.

"How did you even find them?" she took the bag from his hand, kissed his cheek, and carried them into the kitchen to prepare.

"He held some back for you, Rach: something about 'that gorgeous artist cannot go without her fruit, even if I never have another in my life.' Have you been teasing that poor man again?" Ryan laughed.

"I hav my vays," Rachel replied in a fake German accent as she wiggled her right eyebrow, and then she broke out laughing.

"How was your Institute meeting of the Board of Regents?" she asked when she had her laughter back under control.

"Very different from past one," he replied said with more than a modicum of understatement. "For one thing, there were very few arguments about anything.

"The Institute voted to require all students to live on-campus for the next two years," he added, and she gasped. "The off-campus housing is drastically different from any situation in the past, and the Institute agreed with the Tri-cities City Councils and the County government to place the priority on housing for residents who have lost homes."

"But, what about the students?" Rachel asked as she peeled and seeded the cantaloupes.

"Do you remember Clayton Dankansen?"

"Medium-height man who hit on me at the last Board dinner?" she smiled, and he winced; he remembered her response to him, as well.

"That's the one: it seems that he and his business partner Celia Payton have taken mass construction to a new level: they committed their corporate resources to building housing for a minimum of 500 students before freshman orientation, and he committed to having the remainder completed and ready for occupancy two weeks before school starts."

"How in the world will they do that?"

"They've committed all of their manufacturing facilities to MIST housing as the #1 priority, and they're working 24/7 and four shifts to get everything completed and shipped here in time for the assembly, inspection, and approval in 85 days. The regents pushed the start of school back two weeks, and they are notifying all incoming freshman of the new housing arrangements: they will be living in pentagonal housing, a pod with five bedrooms, two bathrooms, living, and a kitchen area. The bedrooms will be a minimum of 800 square feet; that's gonna be small for some of our students' conceptions of what they should have," Ryan laughed, "but they will each have their own room and the students have share two full bathrooms to share.

"Get this, Rachel," he grabbed a slice of cantaloupe and managed to dodge her hand swatting at him, "the company is opening the books for everything to ensure the regents that there is nothing going on that's padding the costs, and they offered to do that before they were even going to be considered. Meeting the delivery date, and at cost to the university, didn't hurt, either," he bit into the fruit and smiled. "I never knew how much I could miss something this simple; this is so juicy," he swallowed the piece and headed to the bedroom, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I'm going to take a shower and wash this loose hair down the drain," he announced, and Rachel laughed.

"You mean, you're going to take a shower, and you expect me to clean up all the loose hair in the shower floor, on the walls, and on the door?"

"Uh-huh: that's why I love you so much," he laughed as he closed the bedroom door, dodging the flying kitchen towel.

Ryan's cell vibrated, and he answered it.

"No, I didn't tell her yet," he laughed. "Did you tell yours, yet, either?"

Silence, and then Ryan laughed again.

"Well, I'm going to take a shower and wash this hair off: I didn't even tell her where you were all day today, so she'll be very surprised," he continued with a smile as he hung up his sports coat, removed his shoes and socks, and then pulled off his shirt and pants and lay them on the bed before he headed into the bathroom without his walker, cell phone in hand and ear bud in ear.

"See you in a bit, then," he concluded, and he tapped the ear bud, removed it, and placed it on the counter next to his now-turned-off cell before he headed to the shower.

--

"Hi, Mom," Wade called out as he came in the front door.

Rachel came from her study, having peeled and sectioned the grapefruit and peeled, seeded, and sliced the cantaloupe before placing them in containers for the refrigerator and gone back to her clay work.

"Ooh, those are pretty," she said as she looked at the flowers that her son was carrying.

"I'm glad you like them," Wade smiled as he presented them, "because they're for you," he added as Rachel smiled.

"And what, pray tell, has my son done, _**this**_ time, that requires him to bring his mother flowers?" Rachel laughed as she took the bouquet and sniffed the flowers.

"Nothing major, Mom: I just got a new job, that's all," he grinned, and Rachel grabbed her son and hugged him.

"So, spill, son," she laughed.

"Not until dinner, Mom," Wade smiled as he broke away and headed for his room.

"That boy," Rachel whispered to herself. She looked skyward and whispered, "thank you," as she headed for the kitchen to get a vase for the flowers.

"Oh, by the way, Mom," Wade stuck his head into the kitchen, "Joss is coming down, and Dad's taking care of dinner, so you don't have to do a thing: Joss and I will take care of the table," and he headed back out to his room.

"Just _**what**_ are those two up to?" Rachel asked herself as she headed for her study with the flowers and the vase.

--

Over an hour later, Rachel heard the doorbell ring, and she heard Ryan call out "I've got it, Rach: stay where you are!"

Rachel heard one strange voice and one somewhat familiar, but Ryan had turned the music up so she couldn't hear what was being said. Rachel thought that she felt carts being rolled into the house through the floors, but she wasn't certain. This went on for about 15-20 minutes, and then the voices left for the final time and Ryan closed the front door.

Rachel used the time to work on a different project, and she was still working on it when the doorbell rang once again.

"Rach, can you get that?"

"Men," she laughed as she wiped the paint off her hands and headed to the front door.

"Joss," she smiled as she opened the door.

"Rachel," Jocelyn Possible smiled as she stepped forward and hugged Rachel Load. Gone was the prepubescent woman-child of last fall, and in front of her was a young 15-year-old woman, so much more confident in herself, her actions, capabilities, and emotions. Wade had told his mom some of what Joss had gone through at the ranch during the invasion, but only what C. P. and Joss had told him. Will Du would only smile and say that "Joss' mom would have been proud of her, and she held up the standards of Global Justice." Joss, Wade said, that she "didn't do nuthin' special." He told his mom that he didn't believe her completely, but that he'd wait for her to talk about what happened when she was ready.

'Her face showed her confidence, though,' Rachel thought, 'and it shows the love that she finally realized that she truly has for Wade.'

"Do you know what Wade's up to, Mama Rachel?" Joss asked as Rachel closed the front door behind her. That was when Rachel got a really good look at what Joss was wearing for the first time, and she smiled.

'Sheri Nicole, your little cowgirl has become a real, live, grownup girl,' she grinned inside. Joss' dress wasn't a party frock, but it wasn't a sack or a jean dress, either. She wore a ribbon-embroidered taffeta strapless dress in a pale emerald green that set off her skin and hair wonderfully. The ribbon sash and bow detail were a bit much, Rachel thought, but the short flared skirt was accented by her signature chestnut-colored tall boots.

'OMG, she's even wearing makeup and perfume: Betty, I blame you, but you still can't get her in a pair of heels,' Rachel laughed inside.

"No clue, dear, but if that's what you're wearing to dinner, I'd better get dressed," Rachel laughed, and she led Joss back with her to her room to change.

"Based on what you're wearing, I need some advice," Rachel laughed, and Joss hugged her as they closed the door.

--

Rachel let Joss go after about 15 minutes of talking and laughing, and she got dressed.

There was a knock on her door about 30 minutes later, and she opened it to see Ryan, single cane in hand, and his blue pin-stripe suit with the yellow rep tie. He offered his arm, she took it wordlessly, and they walked into the living room where Wade was wearing his charcoal-grey suit and white shirt with his favorite maroon tie, Joss on his arm, and the foursome headed into the dining room.

Rachel swore she'd never be surprised again by her husband or son, but this one did it: there were six waiters, standing in their dining room, and a chef dressed in full chef's regalia.

"Good evening, Doctors Load, Miss Possible. I will be preparing your meal tonight," the chef smiled, and Rachel tried not to laugh.

"Good evening, Ronald," she smiled back at him, and he threw her a huge wink.

That broke it, and Rachel and Ryan burst into full laughter, followed closely by Wade, Joss, Ron, and the entire wait-staff. Different members of the wait-staff each took a lady's arms and escorted her to their seats, and they guided Ryan and Wade to theirs.

"Hey, Ron: where's then old ball-and-chain?" Wade laughed, and both Josh and Rachel hit him at the same time.

"My fiancée, Wade," Ron laughed as Wade doubled over from the twin punches, "wanted to be here, but would you want her in the kitchen, Wade?" and Ron laughed as Wade shuddered. "She's out enjoying a 'fun' evening with her parents and brothers putting the last interior wall up on the part of their house that's back up; when I leave here, I'm heading over to help them finish up, and I'm bringing the hot dogs and marshmallows to celebrate," Ron added, and one of the members of the wait-staff gagged. Then, Ron assumed his chef's aspect once again.

Joss watched as Ron seemed to look even more professional than ever before, 'kinda like he pulled himself up when I told him I knew who the real hero was after Drakken's hat sitch,' she thought.

"Tonight, we will have-" Ron began, but Joss interrupted him with a laugh:

"No roasted skunk butt, please and thank you," she smiled, and Ron laughed and agreed with her.

"Not tonight: per request, it's seafood night: 'see food, eat food,'" Ron smiled, and even the wait-staff groaned. "We're having grilled catfish, grilled jumbo shrimp, and grilled lobster, with sides of grilled tomatoes, asparagus and corn, the tomatoes and asparagus basted in EVOO, and the corn basted in a fresh rosemary and tarragon herb butter, and the salad will be a Caesar with the dressing made table-side to ensure freshness.

"Dessert will be a surprise, so be certain to save room for it," Ron nodded, and he and the staff all left the room for a moment, and then two of them returned with chilled bottles. One expertly poured for Ryan and Rachel, while the other poured for Joss and Wade.

"I would like to propose a toast," Ryan stood, and Wade stood, as well, beaming as he did. Joss and Rachel followed, perplexed.

"MIST has a need to fill faculty positions, Rach; you remember hearing that we lost two to the invasion, and we just lost another to NASA. Well, today, the Board of Regents approved the filling of the three replacements, and MIST made history in two ways," Ryan smiled as he held high his glass.

"Rachel, your son and I," Ryan stopped for a moment and took a deep breath. Rachel noticed that he was almost starting to tear up; for what reason, she didn't know. "Your son and I," he restarted, "made history today: we are the first father/son faculty members in MIST history. Joss, your Wade will be teaching students, older than him, in six classes this fall, including all four sections of Introduction to Computer Science, a required class for all incoming freshman. Dr. Wade Agamemnon Load is now an Associate Professor at Middleton Institute of Science and Technology, and I could not be any prouder of my son than I am now," Ryan finished, and Rachel and Joss were stunned.

"Son, I've always been proud of you. But, now, having you as a colleague," Ryan motioned with his glass, and all four touched glasses, "Stephanie would be proud of you, too, even more than I am. Congratulations, son," and Ryan drained his glass, followed by Wade draining his,

Joss drained her glass quickly, and she turned to Wade and smiled a smile even more poignant as she saw the tears of joy in his eyes from his Dad's comments.

"Kin I kiss an Associate Professor?" she grinned.

"As long as I'm not teaching your class at the time," Wade replied, and Joss grabbed him, pulled him to her, and she attacked his lips with pride and love.

Wade had no complaints.

"AHEM!" came from Ron, and the pair broke apart with grins on their faces.

"I'm really, really glad to see you two back together again, but can you save the tonsil hockey for _after_ dinner?" Ron laughed, and Wade stole one more kiss before he pulled her chair out for her to sit.

"If you keep cooking like this, maybe I won't have to bang my head in class like I did when I was tutoring you in Algebra, Ron," Wade laughed, and he got salad greens on his head for his comment. Joss laughed as she picked them out and placed them on his salad plate.

"By the way," Ryan added as he watched Joss lovingly pull arugula from his son's head, "Sarah's dad is now a full professor, and he'll be teaching mostly graduate students, Rachel."

"Good for him, bad for the grads," Rachel laughed as she watched Joss. 'That girl is definitely in it for the long haul, and I'm so glad she didn't lose Wade,' Rachel thought as Joss leaned over and kissed the no-longer-green Associate Professor.

Ron made the salad dressing, adding contents of one bottle carefully to the bowl along with several other ingredients as he finished mixing. One of his associates mixed the greens, and Ron then poured the fresh dressing mixture over the product. Another associate added freshly-made croutons, and the first associate performed the final tossing of the entire mixture and served it on the four chilled salad plates, with just the right amounts on each person's plate that they could eat.

Joss tasted it and smiled. "Ah don't normally lak rabbit food, Ron, but this salad is excellent, and I just love the dressing! What's in it?"

Ron smiled as he turned the bottle around, and Joss blushed as Wade laughed out loud as he read: "Sparkling Red Grape Juice."

"Just a hint; I thought you'd like it, Jocelyn," Ron laughed and ran back into the kitchen before Joss could come after him.

--

The dinner was delicious, and dessert: Strawberry Shortcake with homemade Whipped Cream, whipped table-side, topped off the evening. Ron took care of the table cleanup, and Ryan and Rachel shooed Wade and Joss outside to a spot in the back yard that Ron had prepared for them: a blanket already spread, with grapes and a bottle of Sparkling Red Grape Juice chilling in a cooler.

The air was clear and crisp, even for an early June evening, and the sky had only wisps of clouds.

Wade offered his hand as he knelt, and she took it and knelt beside him. They kissed for a moment, and then they lay on their backs, face-up, side-by-side and holding hands, watching the clouds roll by.

Wade could smell her perfume, and he wondered how he'd made it this long without her.

Joss felt the blood pumping in Wade's hand, and she sniffed silently and smelled his soap; she wondered how she had been so foolish to almost drive him out of her life.

'Never, again,' was the thought in both their minds, and they turned and smiled at each other.

"I love you," they said at the same time, and they giggled and squeezed each other's hands.

"Wade-"

"Joss-"

They looked at each other and giggled again, and Wade nodded as they sat up.

"When I wasn't sure you'd take me back, Wade, I wanted to die, right then and there," Joss admitted, and Wade saw a tear in her right eye. He reached over and wiped it from her face, and she smiled as she reached up and touched the hand.

"I wrote something," she began, and Wade pulled the two of them up to a sitting position and laughed.

"I wrote something, too, Sweet Tea, on the way back from Orlando, after I heard you'd come to Middleton. I wasn't sure what you were coming to tell me: you forgave me, or bugger off," Wade laughed, but Joss could see the sadness behind the laugh.

"I'm no poet, but I named mine 'brown,'" Joss said, and Wade laughed.

"I'm a scientist, not a poet, and I named mine 'brown,' too," and they laughed and hugged each other.

"If that jus' don't beat all," Joss said when they separated, and they both stood.

"Wade, I wrote this on the GJ Jet back here to Middleton, raght afta the Lorwardians. Ah hope you lak it," Joss pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper from her small clutch purse and began to read her handwriting:

--

Brown.

Brown is blah.

Brown is boring.

I used to think that.

Then, I met him.

Brown was cute

Brown seemed intriguing.

Brown seemed to have my attention.

Then, he touched my pain.

Brown was bad.

Brown was evil.

Then, he touched my soul.

He held my hand, when I learned where my pain had been hiding.

He told me I was his hero.

Brown was smart.

Brown was beautiful.

He stood with me, at Mom's gravesite for the first time since she died.

He gave me the courage to be there.

Brown was strong.

Brown was amazing.

We had our first fight.

Brown was ugly.

Brown was stupid.

Then we shared consciousness.

We learned more about the other than we had a right to ever know.

Brown felt my heart.

Brown touched my life.

We grew closer together.

Then, I saw something, and I wanted to die.

Brown betrayed me.

Brown abandoned me.

Then, I learned the truth, and I should have known it all along.

Brown would never leave me.

Brown would always love me.

Another fought alongside with me.

This time, I fought to live, and he told me what was important.

Now, I understand the beauty of brown.

I hope brown understands me.

I hope brown forgives me for my stupidity, my ignorance, my inability to see the hidden truth.

Now, I know for certain:

I love brown: now, more than ever.

--

She folded the paper and looked up, and Wade was crying and smiling at the same time...

Wade reached over and touched hand. "I love you, too, Sweet Tea," and Joss realized, for the first time, that she was crying, as well. Wade reached into his top pocket and pulled out a crisply-folded piece of paper; 'of course, his was typed.

"I was busy on the way back from Orlando, Sweet Tea, and I didn't know if you wanted me or nor, but I hoped with all my heart that you did.

"So, here's what I wrote," he smiled, and he began:

"Roses are red,

"Strawberries, too.

"Joss loves me:

"Woo-hoo, extra hoo!"

"WADE!" Joss laughed through her tears and swatted Wade's leg, but she got an evil gleam in her eye...

...and she began the tickle assault on the sides of the super-genius with no mercy, and Wade was helpless and hopeless as he laughed, louder than he had in weeks.

"All right, all right, all right, I give!" he cried, and she finally let him go. He took several deep breaths in between laughs until he was finally able to calm himself down, and then he picked up his long-since dropped paper.

"Like I told you, I also wrote, and mine is also titled 'Brown,'" he smiled, and he began to read:

--

I can't help it: I had to understand, and you know me, Sweet Tea:

I researched, as I am wont to do:

They are clusters of concentrated melanin, most often visible on fair-complected persons; so, we do have something in common, and I relish in that thought of comparing levels on all portions of our bodies on our wedding night.

They are also called an 'ephelis.'

Freckles.

To me, though, they are the height of beauty, especially when they are fortunate enough to be on my Andrea Jocelyn, my Sweet Tea.

They are, indeed, the color of perfectly-sweetened tea.

I knew that they were genetic, and I have never loved genetics more than when I hold you in my arms.

It's said that they are more often found in people with fair hair such as blonde, strawberry blonde, dishwater blonde, or most commonly red hair; but I've never considered your hair fair; more like far, far beyond the world's feeble understanding of the definition of pure beauty.

It's also stated that they are triggered by exposure to sunlight and become darker and more numerous with exposure; if that's true, I would never have blinds or curtains on our windows at home for fear that they would run away and leave.

Predominately found on the face, they appear on any skin exposed to the sun, and I've never been happier for the Montana sun in my life.

They're rare on infants, and more common on children before puberty and are less common on adults. I never want yours to leave: they define who you are, and your beauty is highlighted by them.

I have traced the freckles on your face more than once, both with you and on the pictures you gave me of you.

I have mapped them on your arm, causing you to giggle uncontrollably.

I have worshiped them on your lovely back when I applied sunscreen, more than once wishing I _**was**_ that sunscreen so I could be that much closer to you.

Science has taught me many things, my darling, but it never taught me what true love was; it could never have taught me what true pain was when you were gone; and it never will imagine the measures of joy I will feel when I hold you in my arms, once again, and I hear those magic words from your beautiful lips:

Wade, I love you.

I never want to be without you again, Andrea Jocelyn; I can't live without you in my life. I will do whatever I need to do to be with you, to be yours, forever.

Whatever it takes, my dear, my forever love, to be with them for the rest of my life.

Those wonderful, beautiful, brown parts of you that I adore.

I love them so.

--

Wade looked up, waiting for a sign.

Joss' face was fixed, but the tears gave her feelings away.

She reached over and placed a hand on Wade's cheek, touching it ever-so-gently, and she leaned in and kissed him tenderly.

"Thank you, Wade: that was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard," she smiled and whispered in that voice that made Wade's body react, and the pair lay back down on the blanket, again holding each other's hands.

They lay silent for a long time, watching the clouds lighten as the sun went down and the stars appeared, simply enjoying each other's company, occasionally sharing a secret hand squeeze.

Then, Joss turned over on her side and faced Wade.

"Wade, kin ah ask you a question?"

Wade turned over and faced her. "Certainly, Sweet Tea."

"How do you get your hair cut?"

"At a barber, like most people," Wade laughed.

"I'm serious, Wade," she countered, and he looked into her eyes and saw Ron's "serious face."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when I get mine trimmed, they comb it out and cut it evenly. Do they straighten all those curls every time?"

"No," Wade laughed. "The barber combs and brushes it until it's not tangled, and then he uses electric clippers and cuts different amounts off at a time until he gets it close to the length I want. Then, he trims it with scissors and gets it even over my head.

"What brought about an interest in hair, dear?" He continued with a question, truly curious.

"Well, Mama Rachel told me that your Dad got a haircut today, and she had to wash all the loose hair out of the shower floor. She laughed as she told me,but it seemed like it was the most wonderful thing in her life that she could do."

Joss was silent for a few minutes, and then she spoke again.

"Besides, I was wondering about kids' hair," She continued, and Wade looked up at her.

"Kids' hair?"

"You know," she smiled, "what kind of hair our kids would have," and Wade fell in love all over again with the auburn-headed wonder with the heart of gold and legs that he wanted to...'well, great legs, anyway,' he giggled inside. 'I love those boots,' he smiled, both inside and out.

"You want to know: would they have red curly-headed hair like mine?" he smiled, and she nodded.

Wade reached over and pulled her down to him, kissing her all the way down and holding her.

When she propped herself up on her hands, she asked, "What was that for, mister?" with a gleam in her eye.

"A kiss," he replied, "for the mother of my children," and Joss smiled at him.

"That was my thought, you know: the first time I saw you in the Kimmunicator, Joss, I wanted you to be with me the rest of our lives, but I never dreamed that I could be this lucky and that it could really happen."

Wade pushed himself up from the ground and pulled her up with him.

"Let's go," he said, pulling her toward the secondary tube entrance in the side yard.

"Where are we going?" she asked as they stepped forward.

"Shopping," he replied, and they went down the tube.

--

"Shopping?" Joss asked as they stepped out at the Middleton Airport.

"Hello Joss, Wade," Commander Lindsey Peterson smiled, and a muffled "hello" came from underneath the aircraft.

"Are we ready?" Wade asked, and Supervising Agent Will Du slid out, covered in grease and smiling. He ripped off the outer covering and revealed a perfectly-pressed jump suit.

"We are, now. All aboard," Will called as he laughed and shooed them onto the small craft.

"What is this, Wade?" Joss asked as she took one of the 10 seats in the rear of the aircraft and strapped herself in with a four-point harness: 'not your ordinary seat belt,' she thought.

"Just a little something I've been working on with Global Justice, for you, Kim, and Ron," Wade replied as he reached forward and touched the console after getting seated and strapped in.

"Passengers strapped in and ready for departure, pilot," he called.

"Roger that, Dr. Load: AJ-1 is ready for departure," Lindsey replied, and the plane moved forward.

"'AJ-1?'" Joss stared at Wade, and he grinned.

"Very good," Wade smiled, "you can say the name," he replied as the craft began to roll forward faster and faster and left the ground; after only a few moments, a massive blast of power hit, and Joss was pressed back into her seat, harder than she'd been before on any aircraft. This quickly disappeared, and the 'fasten seat belt' light was extinguished.

Joss unbuckled and stood in front of Wade.

"Wade, you've got some '_**splainin**_' to do!" she commanded, and she could hear the laughter from the cockpit.

"Some-body's in troooooou-ble," Will called over the intercom, and Wade heard Lindsey laugh.

--

"I can't believe we don't have to do this by hand, anymore," the student aide said to the staff member working with her to get the letters out.

"Well, you'd better be glad we don't; if we had to do what the Regents wanted us to, by hand, we'd have been here four straight days, 18 hours a day, going through the freshmen lists, preparing the letters, and setting up the overnight deliveries.

"Instead," she clicked her mouse, and the last step: the selection of optimal delivery method to reach each student in the next 48 hours with their hard-copy letters and information packets began. "It helps to have a super-genius install and upgrade the software far beyond the original specs," she smiled. "And Dr. Wade Load is such a nice young man too; he's a lot like his father," she added.

"Did you hear?" the co-ed asked excitedly. "He's going to be teaching here this fall!"

"Dr. Load, the younger?" the staff member asked, and the co-ed nodded excitedly.

"He's so cute," she added, and the staff member laughed.

"Forget it, Sally: he's hopelessly in love with another redhead, or did you not watch the news the other night?"

"I saw it, Mrs. Weeks, but a girl can dream, can't she?" Sally asked, and Mrs. Weeks nodded as the program completed and displayed the delivery companies contacted, times for pickup, and the high-speed printers began, printing the letters, information packets, and routing them into the sorting machine to be stuffed into the packet envelopes and labels printed, complete with the postage already calculated and printed on the envelope.

"Besides, Sally, he's 16," Mrs. Weeks added, and Sally smiled.

"And, how old is Mr. Weeks, ma'am?" Sally asked innocently, knowing full well that Mrs. Weeks had a 'younger man' in Mr. Weeks.

Mrs. Weeks blushed.

"Well, it was different back then, my dear. You see," she began, and Sally sat back to listen to the tale of Mrs. Weeks and her younger husband, once again, but she enjoyed hearing it every time. She reached up and twirled her red hair...

--

"So, Sweet Tea, are you still mad at me?" Wade grinned as Joss squeezed him.

He gently stroked her arm, and he felt her goose-bumps pop up on it. "Cold?" he asked.

"No, Aggie, not when I'm with you," she replied.

'That's the first time since we got back together she's called me that,' Wade fought to keep from busting into tears.

"You're doing something else to me," she smirked, and she pointed.

"Happy, huh?" he smirked back.

"Uh-huh," she replied in a voice that he would have sworn came from Kim, and he looked up just in time to see an eerily-similarly look on her face that looked like Kim with the Moodulator attached, and he had just a second to take a deep breath before she pressed her chest against his, kissing him and pulling him just enough forward to get her hand behind him to hold him.

He put his arm around her shoulder as he kissed, and he rubbed her back. He could almost feel her freckles, and the soft skin on her back did things to his imagination that he knew he shouldn't think, but he couldn't help it, and his imagination transferred into other biological reactions.

"Somebody else is happy," she slipped her lips away for a moment to comment, and then she reattached to him, her tongue marching forward into Wade's mouth.

Will closed the cockpit door quietly, and he returned to his seat with a smile on his face.

"What?" Lindsey asked.

"You were right: less talking, more exploring," he replied with a smile.

"Like someone else I know," Lindsey smiled as she slid one hand off of the controls and onto Will's thigh.

"I'm glad I lost that shoot-out," Will commented.

"Will, you were out-shot by an expert: give it up,' she replied with a chuckle as she squeezed his thigh, removing her hand and taking the controls once with both hands. She pressed the microphone button on the yoke.

"Orlando Control, this is Global Justice flight AJ-1, requesting runway and landing instructions per approved flight plan," Lindsey stated into her throat mike, and Will clicked his to open the intercom connection.

"We're landing in about 15 minutes, so everyone back in your seats, and no more groping, please and thank you," he laughed and clicked off his microphone.

"You're just jellin'" Joss called out.

"You got that right, AJ," Lindsey called back with a laugh of her own, and she felt Will's hand-

"Stop that!" she giggled, and she glanced at Will. He had a perfectly-innocent look on his face and his hand on her leg, but he could only hold the look for so long…

"I can't help it," he replied, squeezing her thigh slightly. "It's so much fun, Lin," he added as he stroked it.

"Later, lover," she whispered.

"How much later, Lin?" Wade's voice came over the system, and Will laughed.

"Sooner than yours, Wade," and Will leaned over, clicked off the intercom, and looked at the now-beet-red Lindsey Peterson.

"Oops," she grinned, and Will took the opportunity to steal a kiss.

--

"So, just what _**are**_ we shopping for, Wade?" Joss asked as they stepped into the car to take them to their destination.

"Well, it's not boots, even though I would love to be with you, just once, when you shop for them; that would make _**one**_ of my fantasies come true, Sweet Tea," he laughed, and she punched him lovingly as they drove off.

Lindsey laughed. "You _still_ haven't told her?" She asked as they rode.

"Nope," Wade replied. "It's a surprise," he added.

The car pulled to a stop, the door opened, and a hand reached in and was offered to Joss.

"Miss Possible, Dr. Load, welcome to Orlando, and welcome to B'Golly Solutions," the young man helped Joss out of the car. "I see you brought guests; no problem, we've got you covered," he added as he smiled at Lindsey.

"Thank you, Robert, and I appreciate you allowing us to tour on short notice and in off hours."

"My pleasure, Dr. Load: after all, if you can save the world, shouldn't you have at least one perk along the way?" Robert laughed. What looked like a golf cart pulled up, but it was enclosed in the ready, the driver covered but not totally enclosed. The driver stopped the vehicle and stepped out wearing a security uniform and armed with what looked like a Taser.

"Leroy will take you anywhere on the grounds you want and answer all of your questions," Robert laughed. "He's a better salesman than most of my sales staff," he added.

"Yet, you never promote me, so what does that say about your management skills, Robert?" Leroy shot back, and Joss grinned.

"It says I need to leave you with these good people and get out of your way," Robert replied.

"So, I get the commission on this one if they buy anything?" Leroy asked.

"I would assume so," Wade replied. "Isn't that right, Robert?" he asked, and Robert saw his vacation in Tuscany go out the window, no matter how he answered.

"That's right, Leroy: your sale," Robert muttered and turned. He walked off, mumbling something about being 'held hostage' by children.

"Well, he would have lost the sale with _**that**_ remark," Leroy commented. "I'm Leroy, Dr. Load, and it's an honor to meet you," and Leroy shook Wade's hand. "I've been a fan of yours for a long time, and C. P. has kept me informed with more details in the past few months.

"Miss Possible," Leroy took Joss' hand and gently raised it, barely brushing it to his lips before lowering it. "You're as pretty as C. P. said you were, and that's a lot for _that_ old doctor to say," he laughed.

"Agent Du: good evening," Leroy shook his hand. "Glad to see you still going strong after the Lorwardians," he added with a smile, much to Will's confusion.

"Commander Peterson," Leroy resisted the urge to hug Lindsey, settling for a handshake and a slight squeeze. "Again, C.P. understated your loveliness, just as he did Joss'.

"Climb in," he opened the door, and they all laughed. The rear of the vehicle looked like a small limousine, complete with video screen and refrigerator.

"Ready?" Leroy asked from the driver's seat, and he started the vehicle and began to move forward.

"All right, Leroy," Wade asked, "just where do you know C. P. from?"

"Long story, Dr. Load," Leroy laughed. "I met C. P. at a writer's chat a few years back, and then I met him in person at a Captain Constellation Con-Fab, and we've been good friends ever since."

"C. P., a writer?" Will laughed, and Lindsey punched him in the side.

"Yep, and a good one, too, but that's not why you're here: you want to look at these," and Leroy turned the corner to-

"They're…they're the most beautiful machines I've ever seen," Joss managed to get the words out, and Leroy laughed.

"Lots of people have that reaction, the first time they see one up-close and personal," Tin said as he drove past a pair of Search and Rescue vehicles that B'Golly manufactured.

"Designed for Search and Rescue, this model handles all your needs, carrying the tools and equipment that encompass the full spectrum in search, rescue, and recovery: it has air and hydraulically-powered tools, lifting tools and winches, cutting equipment and shoring materials."

"What about the ability to scan, both inside collapsed buildings and underground?" Joss asked.

"You're good, Miss Possible," Leroy replied, and Wade smiled and squeezed her hand. "We don't have anything like that available yet: the power requirements are too large for vehicles this size," Leroy added.

"This would work great for urban rescue, but the wilderness needs something different," she commented, and Leroy smiled. "Smaller, more ATV-like, I would think," she added, and Lindsey and even Will grinned.

"More like this?" Leroy asked, and he turned the corner, and even Lindsey gasped.

"This is our wilderness vehicle, used for tactical engagements in forest fires and rescues," Leroy explained. The EFR is used by the National Guard in several locations out West."

"Impressive," Joss replied. "How many do you have in stock?" she asked, and Will's jaw dropped while Lindsey chuckled.

"How many do you need?" Leroy asked.

"How many ya got?" Joss shot back, and even Wade laughed, this time.

"We assemble these, custom, for the Guard, but the parts can be assembled quickly, based on the customer's requirements," Leroy replied.

"How about four: two in 30 days, and two after that: kin we do that, Wade?" Joss turned and looked at her almost-fiancée, and he nodded.

"It's possible," Leroy replied, and the rear of the vehicle exploded into laugher.

"You know what would be good?" Joss asked. "An ATV vehicle, pumped up with the extra body strength and engine power of a combat-worthy vehicle, and small enough to carry one driver, a passenger, and two or three people strapped on the back. That vehicle would be able to move in the woods a lot easier than something this size, and do a lot less damage, too," Joss mused, and Wade reached over and kissed her.

"What was _**that**_ for, Wade?" Joss asked. "Not that I minded it, Aggie," she added.

'For the most brilliant idea after the _**Blaze**_**IT!** name, Sweet Tea. Leroy, if I get you some plans for this, can B'Golly make them?"

"Of course, Dr. Load," he replied.

"Wade, please," Wade replied.

"Wade: the customer is always right," Leroy chuckled.

"Leroy, just what is your full name?"

"Thibodaux Leroy Bradford Al-Simone," he replied. "No one can ever pronounce the first name, so I just started going by Leroy."

"And, when did you get the arch supports, Leroy: just a few months ago?" Wade asked.

"You've been around KP too long, haven't you?" Leroy laughed. "Just started wearing them six weeks ago, right before the fun began," he said.

"Well, looking good. Feet feeling fine?"

"Nice use of alliteration, Dr. Load," Leroy replied dryly, and Lindsey and Will both laughed. "They are feeling better, thank you for asking.

"Now, about ambulances," and they drove onward through the lot.

--

Just before they got into the car and headed back to the airport, Leroy tossed a question to Wade.

"Are you entering the Father's Day contest, Dr. -- Wade?"

"What contest?"

"It's on the national radio stations, and it's being held locally in lots of locations: you write a letter about your father, and the winner gets a free dinner at the restaurant of the station's choosing: considering the food sitch these days, it should draw a crowd of replies," Leroy smiled as he helped Joss into the car.

"Thank you, Leroy: you've been a wonderful host, today," Joss smiled and shocked Leroy by leaning out and kissing his cheek.

"I'll never wash this cheek, ever again," Leroy swooned, and Will and Wade both laughed. Lindsey decided to follow Joss, and she kissed his other cheek.

"You ladies must be striving for water conservation, since you don't ever want me to wash my face again," Leroy laughed, and Will nodded as he shook Leroy's hand.

"'Thanks," Will said, and Leroy nodded.

"Wade, do all the women that are around you look this good?"

"Hey you know us nerds, Leroy: we attract only the bright and the beautiful," Wade laughed.

"If that's true Wade, I want nerds like this around me more often," Leroy replied as both he and Wade heard raspberries coming from inside the vehicle.

"Wade, thank you for this order: Robert will have a large bovine when he sees it," he laughed, "but he'll still be happy when he sees what is does to his division's sales numbers," Leroy shook Wade's hand, and Wade stepped into the car. Leroy closed the door, and the car pulled forward.

"Doctor Wade Load and Miss Joss Possible: who knew I'd ever meet them, face-to-face," Leroy mused as he looked at the sales order he'd taken and smiled.

"This should cover my doctors' bills for awhile," he laughed as he got back into the vehicle.

**--**

On the flight home, Joss and Wade spent the time talking about the radio contest Leroy told them about, talking quietly back and forth and, by the time they landed in Middleton, Wade had a plan….

**--**

The knock at the door turned out to be a special delivery man with a package.

"Jamie!"

"Yes, Mama?"

"A package from America, from your college," and the running feet were followed by a young woman, looking very much like the 18-year-old that she was, with a big smile on her face.

"'Middleton Institute of Science and Technology,'" the deliveryman read and smiled as he handed the package to Jamie and the pad for her to sign for it. Jamie quickly signed and handed him back the pad and pen.

"Gracias," she smiled as he waved goodbye.

Her mother was closing the door as Jamie ripped open the package. Jamie read a few lines, looked at another piece of paper, and then she dropped the entire package on the floor and fell to her knees, crying.

"JAMIE!" her mother quickly ran to her and tilted Jamie's face up, and she had a huge smile in her tears.

"Mama, school will be starting a bit late, but they've arranged with the airlines for the flight changes not to cost me anything," Jamie started, and her mother crossed herself with a smile on her face.

"That's good, mijo, no?"

"I'm the luckiest girl in the world, Mama," Jamie announced, stood, and twirled her mother around.

"JAMIE! What are you doing?"

"I'm so happy, Mama: I just found out who I will be sharing space with in the dorms."

"Who?"

"Keemberly Ann Possible," she announced, and her mother crossed herself again and fingered her rosary beards.

"It is a sign, my daughter: you are destined to succeed, if you will have her as a roommate."

"Mama, I will have a single room at college: we all will."

"A single room?"

"And, for no more cost than a double, Mama: MIST is building all new dorms, and they are mansions, Mama: over 70 square metres, Mama!" Jamie almost danced.

"Mama," she looked into her mother's eyes. "Mama, I will bring honor to our family, and to our country, and I will help lead our country's future space program with what I learn in school.

"After all, Mama, Keemberly says it all the time:

"'Anything's Possible,' Mama," and Jamie and her mother hugged.

--

Father's Day, after the Lorwardian sitch, and Wade and his Mom had invited Betty, Slim, and Joss down for dinner.

Wade had taken on the grill, thanks to some quick lessons from Ron, and Rachel made the salad. Betty brought some dessert from her apartment after she first stopped at the Load house and then took a side trip home with Joss.

Joss, of course, brought the drinks, and Wade laughed as she iced the bottles down.

"Wade, what's going on in town?" Ryan asked, and Wade tried to look innocent.

"What do you mean, Dad?" he asked.

"Well, I was in a store, yesterday, and the clerk took my card and grinned when he read the name.

"'Ryan Load, huh? Lucky guy, to have a son like that,' he said."

"I had a similar 'experience yesterday in the store, Ryan," Slim said. "Sweet Tea, what have you two been up to?"

"Nothin', Daddy," she giggled, and Wade's heart thumped several times at the sound of music coming from his 'Sweet Tea.'

Dinner was relaxing: barbeque beef ribs and sausage, and Rachel's potato salad topped the main course, and Betty even slipped some baked beans in when she brought back the dessert: a pair of fresh key-lime pies.

Everyone was full, and Wade pulled out a remote.

"Dad, I wondered what I could get for you for Father's Day, especially after your speech when mom found out what I'd be doing in the fall," Wade began, and Joss saw the tears begin to form in his eyes. "Then, I got an idea from a new friend, and Joss liked it, so we both did it, and…well, here it is," and Wade clicked on the outdoor sound system, and two voices came over the speakers.

"I'm Ben," the first voice said.

"And, I'm Jerry," the second voice added.

"And, no, we're not selling ice cream," they said together, and a gong sounded in the background.

"This is a special replay broadcast for Dr. Wade Load and Miss Jocelyn Possible of the show we did Friday evening. Wade, if you're listening," Ben laughed.

"And, we know you are, since you have the whole world wired," Jerry laughed,

"This is for you, and for Miss Possible, and thank you, from the fathers of Middleton, Colorado, and the fathers that live around the Lazy C Ranch in Montana,' and the click was audible.

"I'm Ben," the voice repeated.

"And, I'm Jerry, and we have a special treat for all of you who have entered the contest, and for all of you who were planning to enter the contest," Jerry replied.

"We received a very special letter," he continued, "from a member of Team Possible: Doctor Wade A. Load.

"Ben, just how many jokes do you think he got about his name, growing up?" Jerry asked.

"More than I bet he'd care to remember, Jerry, but that's not important," Ben replied. "What is important is this letter from Dr. Load, addressed to both of us.

"'Dear Ben and Jerry,' the letter began, 'I want to tell you about my dad, Dr. Ryan Load.

"'Not a lot of folks have heard of him, mainly because he has the 'good fortune' to live in a town with Kim Possible, Ron Stoppable, and a pain-in-the-arse son named Wade,'" and Wade laughed.

He stole a glance at his dad and saw that he was holding his mother's hand and smiling.

"'I may be smart, but it's all because of my parents: great genes, and the perfect set of parents to raise me.

"'Very few people know this, but my dad is disabled: he has Multiple Sclerosis. The doctors don't know what causes it or how to cure it; all they can do is give him medicine that will, hopefully, keep the attacks from coming back with less frequency, if at all.

"'I first remember seeing Dad, stretched out on the bed, and Mom was massaging his legs. I thought that that was a nice thing for Mom to do; I didn't know that Dad's muscles had locked so bad that he couldn't get out of bed.

"'Dad has had two exacerbations that I know of since I've been alive, and he had one right before I was conceived.' So much for the idea of 'disabled'," Ben laughed, and Jerry banged the gong.

"'Several universities had been interested in hiring Dad, but when they saw him with the cane, all bets were off. The walker was a real deal-breaker, too. So, when MIST offered him a position, he snapped it up, and he and Mom moved to Middleton, Colorado.

"The mountain air must have been good for them, because I was born three years later, but Dad had had his second exacerbation while he was preparing for classes. He was afraid that MIST was going to let him go, but they did just the opposite: they did everything in their power to ensure that he could teach his classes remotely until he was back on his feet.

"'The most poignant memory I have of my dad was when I was in Panthers: we had a camp-out for first graders, and everyone in my group was coming with their dads, and I wanted mine to come.

"'So, here was Dad, setting up a tent, standing with a walker, shorts and black socks, and kids from other groups were laughing and pointing at me and him. We had the largest tent of all, since Dad needed the room to move around, but we had the sharpest campsite of all; even the adult leaders commented to Dad that night on the quality of his campsite. Dad, of course, then proceeded to tell them of the importance of good campsites in military history, and the adults were hooked.

"'The first group of kids stopped laughing the next day when Dad and I won the three-legged race; then Dad, on the first night, left the entire group in stitches with his jokes and stories that Mom whished he wouldn't tell at parties, but all the kids enjoyed them.

"'Dad and I won both the archery and the putt-putt contests the net day, and even more kids stopped laughing at him and started cheering for him. When he sang all of those funny Panther songs the next night, he was getting cheers and major-league applause.

"'One kid came up to me and asked me why Dad used a walker, and I explained that he sometimes lost his balance because his leg muscles didn't always want to work right because of his disease.

"'I wish my dad had a reason to use a walker,' he replied; ' that looks cool, and your dad is cool, too,' he added as he walked away, and I was never prouder of my dad than then.

"'Later, after I started studying for my first PhD,' and that was, what, at age eight?" Ben laughed, and Jerry hit the gong, again, "'I met a young lady, my first redhead, who became a very good friend. She was having some family problems, and Dad and Mom treated her like the queen that she was. She died, but I later found out that Dad had suggested to Mom, before she died, that they seriously look into adopting her.'"

"Ben, do you know who he's talking about?" Jerry asked.

"No, Jerry, I don't," and Ben continued.

"'I got scared to leave my room, and Dad worked with contractors to remodel the house so I could survive, and I did, in my room, for the next few years. I didn't leave the house for more than five times, in five years. Yea, Jerry, and that was even after I started working with Kim and Ron.

"'Kim was my second redhead,'" Jerry laughed and banged the gong..

"'It took another redhead to get me out of my room,' Gee, Jerry, I wonder who he's talking about?" Ben laughed, Jerry hit the gong again, and Joss squeezed Wade's hand. "Wade definitely needs to stay in the color spectrum if these are the kinds of women he ends up with, and they're all redheaded," Ben added with a laugh.

Joss looked over at him, and saw tears beginning to fall down his face. She looked over at Ryan and Rachel, and they were practically glowing with pride at their son.

"'I picked up a second Dad in the deal: Slim treated me with respect after Joss, his daughter, found out what happened to her mom; when I told him that I, a foolish 13-year-old, wanted to marry his daughter when she graduated from college, he shocked me by agreeing. Then, after we stopped speaking to each other, just before the Lorwardians ruined all our summer plans,', understatement of the year!" Ben laughed, Jerry struck the gong again, and the outdoors at the Load house was filled with laughter. "'Slim believed me when I told him I had no idea what I had done to make her mad at me, and he defended me with his daughter.

"Then, I found a third Dad in Dr. Adams: he listened to me, believed me, and helped me figure out what had happened, and then he delivered the message to Joss when I realized what I had done,'" and Joss squeezed Wade's hand again. "'Unfortunately, the landings delayed us getting back together, but we made it, finally, and we're all together on Father's Day.'"

"Everybody except C. P.," Joss smiled, and she had a tear in her eye for the man that helped her see the consequences of her actions, and the fence gate opened to-

"C. P.!" Joss yelled, and she jumped up and ran, slamming into the man and hugging him.

"'Guys, I've been blessed: I have three major male role models in my life, and I have had the chances to help people in lots of different ways,'" Ben stopped.

"Jerry, you need to read this: I just can't," Ben said, and the listeners could hear papers moving, and they could hear sniffling in the background.

"'I want to give my dad, Slim, and C. P. The kind of Father's Day gift that they deserve, but what can you give such wonderful role models?'"

"Cash is always a great gift," C. P. smiled, and Joss didn't help him any by kissing his cheek and punching him in the side at the same time.

"You've been around Betty too long," C. P. wheezed, and Betty's laugh could be heard down the street.

"So, Guys, I've sent this message to you to go out to the kids of Middleton and those that live around the Lazy C Ranch in Montana... This is the message:

"'For your Dad, your Mom, and/or that person in your life who helps you when things are at their worst, take them out to dinner, and tell them to order whatever they want: dinner is on Wade Load and the radio station.

"'Guys: you get the bill, and send it to me: I'll pay it, no matter the amount, and no matter if they entered the contest or not, they eat for free, and the meal's on me. This is for my Dad, Dr. Ryan Load; my girlfriend's father, Dr. Samuel Possible, and my new good friend, Dr. Charles Adams,'" and, this time, Ben hit the gong, but it was a tiny crash compared to the ones that Jerry had made.

"Now, there's a kid with class," Ben said, and the listeners could hear him sniffling.

"Yea, a kid who could send you to the moon and back for calling him a kid," Jerry laughed and struck the gong with a strong shot, and Wade laughed.

"And, there's a father who should give lessons," Jerry added.

"I think I'll keep you around, hair and all," Rachel squeezed Ryan's hand, and he turned his head to find that he was the subject of a lip assault.

"You're not a bad catch, Samuel Clemens Possible," Betty grinned, and she mirrored Rachel's assault.

C. P. looked at Wade and grinned.

"Don't _**even**_ think I'm going to match Mom and Momma2, C. P.!" Wade replied. Joss laughed and kissed C. P. on the cheek.

"Nothing personal, C. P., but I'm going for younger chocolate, today," and she ran and fell into Wade's lap, kissing him as she went down.

"'Thanks, guys, for allowing me to tell my story, and I hope you take me up on my offer. Signed, Dr. Wade A. Load,'" and this time, no gong was heard, only sniffles over the airwaves.

"Well, Ben, what should we do: should we take him up on his offer?"

"Well, D'OI, Jerry, or have you been sniffing the blueberry topping, again?" Ben laughed. "Dr. Load, we humbly accept your offer, and we'll let the restaurants know: Dad's Day Dinner is on you"

"Do you think his dad or Slim will hear this before Father's Day?" Jerry asked, and then he laughed. "What am I saying? He's got the whole world wired, he can jam whatever he wants," he said out loud.

"Or," Wade lifted a smiling Joss Possible from his face, "he can make sure that they're not turning on the radios to hear any of this going out," he grinned, and C. P. walked over and shook Wade's hand. Wade realized that C. P. was crying.

"Thanks, Wade: I haven't had a Father's Day like this in a very long time. I haven't seen my daughter since a year after my divorce: she decided that I was evil and wrong for making her mother cry, and she has refused to see me ever since. Father's Day has always been a knife in my heart, an annual reminder of what I've lost, and you just gave me my first good one in a very, very long time.

"Thank you, son," and C. P. grabbed Wade and hugged him.

Joss heard the gate open, and two men came in, carrying microphones and wearing large and very visible PRESS credentials.

She heard the radio click over the speakers, and there was a loud murmuring of voices and clicking of what sounded like dishes in the background.

"Dr. Load," Jerry began, and the voices quieted down a bit, "It's our turn to bring you a surprise. We're live at Uncle Sato's Texican Ribs 'n Stuff, and there are a few people who want to talk to you. We also are live, in the backyard of the Doctors Load.

"Ma'am, did you have a few words to say to Dr. Load?" and the whistles started up, and the catcalls, and then she spoke:

"Why, yes, I do," the sultry voice came over the airwaves, and Joss laughed as Wade looked shocked and surprised at the same time.

"Hello, there, 'baby boy,'" Monique began, and Wade began to sweat.

"M-M-M-Monique?" he stammered, and she laughed.

"Yes, Wade, it's Monique. I just wanted to tell you thank you for doing this; Dad hasn't had this much fun in years," she added.

"That's right, Dr. Load," a smiling, gravelly voice spoke, and Joss was surprised to see both Wade and his dad sit up straighter. "Son, I always knew you were a good kid, but now I see you've become a good man, as well."

"Thank you, Doctor Reverend. Jenkins," Wade replied, "and thank you, too, Monique, for everything you did during the recent times. Sir, your daughter-" and Mr. Jenkins cut him off.

"My daughter used what the good Lord giveth, and what the good Doctor provideth," he laughed, "and that combination was enough for all of us.

"I guess I can't call you 'baby boy' anymore, can I, Wade?" Monique added, and Joss could hear a bit of a sniffle in her voice.

"Yes, you can, my shopping guru," Joss replied, and Monique laughed while Wade slapped his head in mock annoyance.

"Thanks, Joss: I knew I could count on you," Monique replied. "Thanks, again, Wade."

"You're welcome, Monique, and thank you for all of those years of dreams, too," Wade replied, and rounds of whistles could be heard over the speakers.

'Just a few more, Dr. Load," and the microphone moved-

"Hey, Wade," and Joss' ears perked up.

"Kim!" Wade's smile grew big.

"Wade," Dr. Anne Possible's voice came across after Kim's, and Rachel smiled. "Thank you, Wade, from all of us. I've got a kiss waiting for you, for everything you've done, for helping Ron bring my daughter back, alive," and Anne's voice could be heard to crack a bit.

"Thank you, Dr. Possible," Wade blushed. "Kim, how's the house coming along?"

"We've got the kitchen, baths, and a living area dried in, so we're safe from the summer rains; we're working on the bedrooms, and we should be back in one piece in six weeks or so," she replied, and a cheer could be heard from Jim and Tim.

"That's great, Kim!" Jerry exclaimed.

"Yea, great," Kim said with a sad tone in her voice. "You can rebuild a house, but it won't have the memories in it that our old house did," she added.

"But, Cousin Kim," Joss said, "can't you build new memories in this house?"

"We're sure gonna try," Ron Stoppable said, and a loud chorus of Ooh, Go Guy!, and Whoa was heard in the background.

"Ron, did Uncle James just come up behind you?" Joss asked with a grin.

"I did, Jocelyn," James said, and everyone heard Ron gulp.

"Ronald, after what you've done for my family, I trust you, and I'm sure I won't need that deep space probe for those memories you and my Kimmie-Cub plan to make," James said to the entire listening audience, and Rachel and Ryan gasped.

"You...you trust me, Mr. Dr. P?"

"I've always trusted you, Ronald: welcome to the family, just don't do anything stupid, or I'll need to get updated measurements."

"DADDY!"

"Agreed, Mr. Dr. P."

"Hey, Wade," a new voice came over the airwaves, and Wade's smile grew.

"Hello, Sarah," Joss smiled, and Wade smiled in relief.

"Hey, Joss: I have somebody here who wants to say hello to Wade; is that all right?"

"Certainly, Sarah."

"Hi, Wade," the young girl's voice came over the speaker, and Joss saw Wade's face scrunch in horror.

"Olivia?" he whispered, and Joss heard giggles coming across the speakers.

"That's right, Wade: it's me. Did you miss me?"

"Well, of course, Olivia; after all, we are friends still, right?"

"Yea, I know about Joss, Wade, and I understand," Joss heard sniffles coming over the speaker. "Really, I do….well, bye," and the sound of crying could be heard fading.

"Wade, Olivia can't find her parents, so she's staying with us until things get settled," Sarah said. "That won't be a problem, will it?"

"'Course not," Wade replied quickly, but Joss saw Wade sweating. She decided to wait and ask about that sitch later, when they were alone.

"Well, Dr. Load, that's all from here. Is there anyone there, where you are, who would like to say anything?"

"I'm proud of my son," Wade's head snapped around when he heard his father's voice, "and I'm happy he did this, even if he did go stealth on me to do it," Ryan laughed. "I love you, son," and the applause came over the speakers in waves.

"That's all from Uncle Sato's," Ben started, but a new voice broke in.

"Doctor Load!"

"Sato," Wade replied.

"You no pay, Dr. Load: Sato pay," Sato said in a crisp Japanese cinema accent.

"Sato," Wade smiled, "you would bring dishonor to me, in front of my father and mother?"

"Gotcha, Wade," and Sato laughed as he reverted to his perfect English. "I sent some PFP and ice cream over, it should be there any minute," and swoons from ladies in the yard and at the broadcast site almost overpowered the speakers at the restaurant and in the backyard.

"PFP?" Ben asked.

"You've never had PFP?" Monique, Kim, Anne, and Sarah all asked in unison, shocked.

"No," Ben sounded wary.

"We're signing off, now," Jerry laughed. "There are four women surrounding Ben, and they look scarily \hungry," and the speaker clicked off to waves of laughter from the backyard, alls stopping when the backyard gate opened and Sato's team began to roll in the trays of PFP and ice cream.

--

Celia Patricia Danes-Parsons was cleaning out her closets.

After all, the clothes she wore in high school just _would not do_ for college, even in Colorado, and the ones she's worn on her two-year sabbatical/time of self-exploration in Europe (her father's high school graduation gift to her) were...well, those clothes were _worn_.

After two hours of hard work supervising the maid, she had finished clearing the closets, and the maid had left with the piles of clothes. Tisha Louis, her maid of the past 10 years, had asked how she wanted to dispose of the clothes, and Celia was intrigued. Tisha told her that her daughter had seen Celia's clothes and asked her mother, if Celia ever got rid of any of them, if she might be able to buy them from her at a discount. Celia was touched, and she told Tisha that she could have them for a penny for each piece. The total turned out to be US Two Dollars and 50 cents, and Tisha paid it gladly, getting thousands of dollars of clothes for literally pennies.

Celia didn't care: she would never see the girl again, or the clothes.

She calculated the amount of clothes she would need for the fall; she'd have to change wardrobes in the spring, so she could shop during Christmas.

Celia changed into her favorite workout outfit and had begun her stretching exercises when she heard a knock at the door.

"Come in, Mother," She smiled as her mother opened the door, carrying a package.

"Here's a special delivery for you from that little college you're going to, Celia," Janice Beverly Danes-Parsons, Celia's mother, smiled as she handed Celia the thick envelope.

"MOTHER!" Celia laughed. "I told you before: MIST is not a hole-in-the-wall."

"I know," her mother sighed, "but I had hoped I could convince you to become a legacy at my college" her mother added.

"So, I could meet a nice young man, like you did, Mother?" Celia replied sweetly, and her mother had no reaction. She knew how Celia felt about her biological father, her mother's ex-husband. She had put it behind her after she fell in love with and married Jason Christopher Parsons III, but her daughter wanted nothing to do with her biological father.

"MIST is far enough away so I'll be able to break from this group of friends. Besides, Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable will be there, and I want to expand my network."

"Ever the planner," Janice smiled, walked over to her, and kissed her cheek while Celia opened the envelope.

"Well, that's just great," she groused.

"What's wrong, dear?"

"They're moving the start of school back two weeks so the first of the new dormitories can be occupied by all freshmen.

"Dormitories," she snarled, "and not even an apartment," she mumbled, and she looked further through the document.

"Snap!" She yelled. "I only have an 800-square-foot room? What am I supposed to do with only 800 square feet, Mother?"

"Ah, college time blues, when my daughter gets to suffer for her decisions," Janice laughed.

"You'll enjoy it, Mother: I need a shopping trip in a few weeks for college clothes, and you and your cards are coming along for the ride," Celia laughed.

"Not a problem, daughter: Jason will be back in town from Stuttgart in a few days, and he can come along and buy for the both of us," she smiled, and Celia grinned.

"I do have some interesting people in my pod, Mother," Celia read.

"Such as?"

"Well, I have a pod-mate, from Wake Island," Celia began. "Eliza Doolittle Booth," she added, and her mother smiled.

"Someone liked literature," Janice commented, and Celia laughed with her

"Annabelle Stephanie Cartwright, from San Angelo, Texas," Celia continued.

"Oh, my; I do hope she's not a redneck hick or, even worse, a cowgirl," her mother remarked.

"An interesting name: Cathryn Crey Cochran, from Japan, someplace named Yamanouchi, I think it's pronounced," Celia read on.

"Oh, dear: I do hope she doesn't try to force that nasty raw fish on everybody or drive you all crazy cooking rice all the time," her mother laughed.

"Wait," Celia smiled. "I actually have a Middleton resident in our little group; maybe she knows Kim," she said thoughtfully.

"What's her name?"

"Sarah Janine Best."

**--**

**Author's afterward:**

The beginning of college at MIST actually started as high school ended; the summer prior to the fall semester is always a cornucopia of exciting events for both the institution as well as the students. For MIST, it's even more so this year, being in the center of the Lorwardian invasion events.

Some things will remain the same, and some will change, drastically….

--

Next, on _**Birth, and ReBirth 2: College time Blues**__**:**_

**Chapter 2: Moving days and surprising sitches….**

--

Thank you, to all of you, for supporting all of us on this new journey.

Special thank, especially, to my wonderful betas Star-Eva01, ja, and kt, without whom this would not be the story it is. Any errors in this copy are mine. Who knew that I could have betas from opposite ends of the age spectrum that agree on so many things, both that are good and that needed to be 'kicked up a notch'?

Thanks again for reading, and please review.


	2. C2: Moving days and surprising sitches

_**Birth, and ReBirth 02: College Time Blues.**_

Disclaimer/Author's Notes: Kim Possible and all the characters of the show are owned by the Disney Company. Original lyrics to the songs referenced in this story and the music are the property of the respective authors, artists and labels. All other characters can be blamed on the author (he, however, is not responsible for all of their actions at all times, being barely responsible for himself most of the time).

This is a strictly not-for-profit, just-for-fun work.

Enjoy! Please read and review.

--

**A/N Forward: **

High School is over for our heroes Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable, and it wasn't the end of the world.

It _**was**_ the end of high school, however, and the beginning of a totally new adventure for them and all of their friends and families...and foes.

It's a Birth of new emotions, friendships, and ways of life, and a ReBirth of old emotions, friendships, and ways of life; but, after all, isn't that what college is all about?

It's time for everyone leaving high school, and others, to have the _**College Time Blues**_….

--

**Chapter 2: Moving days and surprising sitches….**

--

"HOLD IT!" James Timothy Possible yelled.

The team held onto the support ropes for dear life while James and Anne checked and applied the last of the bonding agent to the final set of floor and truss anchors for the outer shield wall.

"RELEASE!" He shouted, and the group dropped the lines.

The final outer wall held, and the team cheered; James gave the command signal, and the Hephaestus III material bonded to the house.

The Possible land now was, truly and completely, reclaimed as the location as the Possible home.

Kim smiled: her dad had defied the odds, redesigning the Possible home almost completely from memory on his computer and asked each person what they would like to change 'if they had the opportunity'. The result had been a dream house for all the family members that looked much like their old home, but with a few 'special' changes...

...including the nursery, much to Kim's surprise and Jim and Tim's dismay.

"You mean, we won't be the youngest anymore?" Tim almost shouted, and Anne smiled and nodded while James stood next to his wife, his arm wrapped around her waist.

"Mom, how did this happen?" was Kim's question: she could 'do the math.'

"Well, Kimmie," Anne grinned, "when a man and a woman love each other, they-"

"_**MOM! TMI!!"**_ Kim laughed, Ron fell out of his chair, and Rufus fell from the top of the couch and landed, head-first, between the cushions and the back of the couch. Ron could feel the couch shake as the little guy laughed hard. "I mean, **when** did it happen?"

"Well, Kimmie-cub," James smiled, and Anne blushed. "You were 'away,'" he pointed straight up, "and Ronald remembers the last time he saw me," James smiled, and Ron blushed.

Kim looked at her BFBFF: "Ron, why are _**you**_ blushing?"

"Well, KP," Ron began, pulling at his collar, "Shego had taken your dad's spacesuit, and he was banging on the outside of the Kepler-2 when I last saw him..." Ron let his voice trail.

"Shego took his spacesuit?" Kim looked surprised and then blushed past hair-red. "Daddy wasn't..."

"_**NO!**_" Ron shouted, and Kim took a deep breath. "As I recall," Ron smiled knowingly, "he _was_ wearing a cute set of black boxers, and I seem to recall pink hearts on them-"

Kim cut him off and stared at her parents, turning redder with each breath. "_**You**_… were planning …some...**some**...on the night of _**MY**_ high school graduation?"

"Well, Kimmie, you would have been out of the house, and your brothers were going to stay with friends..."

"Yeah, Tim had a hot date planned with Hope," Jim laughed, and Tim hit him high.

"You're just jellin' because no girl would date you back then, spice worm casings," Tim laughed back at him.

**"TWEEBS!"** Kim yelled, and Jim and Tim looked at her, then at each other, grinned, and then launched a full round salvo of 'brother cooties,' all directed at Kim.

"_EWWWWWWWW!_ What was that for?" Kim laughed as she pushed them off.

"Kim, we were afraid-" Jim started.

"We'd never see you again-" Tim continued, and Kim watched a miracle: water in the eyes of her brother.

"And our life wouldn't be the same-" Jim added, and Ron saw the miracle repeat with water in Jim's eyes.

"Without a diary to hack," they said together and hugged Kim tight.

"Tweebs," Kim smiled and laughed and hugged them back, and James and Anne smiled as they looked at the miracle of the Lowardians: Kim and her brothers, not trying to kill each other.

Rufus pulled his head up out of the couch cushions and looked on.

"AWW! Tweebs!" he laughed and jumped onto Ron's shoulder.

"And, Ronald?" James glared at Ron, and Ron gulped.

"Yes sir?" he squeaked.

"Don't even **think** of getting any boxers like that," James wore his 'serious face,' and then he added: "I'm giving you a package of them for your wedding night," and grinned as blushes from both Kim and Ron passed the maximum redness meter.

Ron looked at the face of his prospective father-in-law, and James winked at him.

"Yes, Sir!" Ron stood, saluted, pulled Kim to her feet, and they ran out the front door, leaving it wide open.

"Well, boys, we can do one of two things," James turned to face his sons, and their shoulders drooped like Drakken's petals after an extended Shego-drought.

"We can start painting the nursery," Anne smiled, and the boys winced: they had already been told that they had to do it 'old-school' and without any rocket packs.

"Or, you could help us figure out where to put the above-ground lap pool and the sunken 12-person hot tub in the back yard," James finished.

"Us?" Jim and Tim asked at the same time.

"Pool?" Jim added energetically.

"Hot tub?" Tim shot back, even more energetically.

"Yes: I enlisted some help," and Olivia and Hope walked through the front door.

"Pool measuring, Dad," came from Jim, and Hope giggled.

"Hot-tubbing, Dad," Tim added, and Olivia giggled, as well.

Hope took Tim's arm, and Olivia took Jim's arm, and the foursome walked to the back yard.

"Somehow, I thought it would be at least a bit more difficult than that," James mused, and Anne hit him in the back of the head.

"OWWW! What was that-" he never finished his sentence as his lips were now assaulted by those of a nimble and skilled brain surgeon...

...and, he liked it...

Oh, snap, how he liked it, and he grinned as his hands moved lower on her back...

--

Oonce outside, Kim pulled them toward the Sloth, and Ron jumped in the passenger seat while Kim took the drivers'.

Ron had laughed when they found the Sloth, originally after graduation, holding up a pile of rubble and with nary a scratch on it.

"They don't build them like they used to," he had commented.:

"Especially since the recall," Kim replied, punching Ron in the side playfully, reminding him of his comment when he first saw the 'vehicle,' as he had described it, complete with 'air quotes.'

"Kim, what are you-" He felt her stare on his face, and he stopped talking as she pulled out of the driveway and headed out of town to Lake Middleton. As they drove in silence, the sun began to set, so it was partially dark when Kim stopped at a secluded part of the park.

"OK, Ron," she said, and Ron turned his head and looked at her and, in the next 15 microseconds, he knew the meaning of true fear:

Kim turned and smiled at Ron: "I'm ready, Ron: I want you, now," she gave him a throaty whisper and reached out her right hand to touch his thigh. Fire and ice ran up and down Ron's spine at the same time at Kim's words and the look in her fiery green eyes, and he felt his resolve beginning to melt. He was glad Rufus was asleep in the back seat, but he wished he were awake to give him strength.

"KP, we agreed to wait, remember?" Ron tried to remind her as he fought to hang on to his self-control and the promise they had made to each other, but he could see that he wasn't going to get through to her when Kim lifted up her Kimela aspect, and the second before she pounced Ron realized that, if Kim ever learned that Kimerella was more of a danger to his self-control in this sitch then Kimela, he would truly be a goner:

"That was before my house was smashed," she shouted at Ron; he could watched the the green flames dance in her eyes, marking Kimela at full strength, "I was kidnapped by aliens, and one of them wanted to kill me and hang me from a wall!"

"That was before..." she had her voice trail off a bit and paused for moments before she continued, "...I realized that I might never see the only man besides my father that I ever loved, and the only man that I have ever wanted to be with, and I decided I wouldn't take that chance, again."

"What brought this on, KP?"

"Ron, don't you know how much I love you?" by now, Ron could see Kim crying. "It took me forever to understand why I couldn't fall in love with anyone else: it was because I was already in love you since Pre-K, I agreed to be your wife last Christmas, and then I almost died three months ago..." her voice trailed, and she stared forward into space...

"I…almost _died_, Ron," she whispered, and Ron got out of the car, walked quickly behind it and around to the drivers' side, opened the door, and held his hand out to help her rise from the car seat to her feet.

"You didn't die, my darling Kimberly Ann, and you never will as long as I'm around," Ron spoke softly. "I've told your Dad, every time we went on a mission, that I was bringing you back alive, no matter what, and that included this one, too." He started to stretch out his hand, but he stopped and grinned. "Didn't you have faith in me for all the times I've told you: 'I've always got your back, KP?'" he smiled his goofy smile and held his arms open wide.

His action burst the dam, and Kim fell into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably and squeezing him to within an inch of his life.

'I've always known that "she can do anything,"' Ron thought as Kim cried waves of tears that, somehow, seemed to cleanse her very soul, 'including carry the weight of the entire world on her shoulders,' he smiled as he felt her warmth. 'Such strong and beautiful shoulders, KP, my forever angel,' Ron smiled as he continued to think and hold the center of his universe. 'You don't have to do it all by yourself. You never did, and you've always known that, deep down.'

'I've got you, KP, and I'm never letting you go. You'll always be safe...on my watch. After all, I did promise your Dad,' he added, and his eyes glowed blue for a moment as Kim cried.

The built-in dash Kimmunicator went off, and Ron whistled a short four-note tune. Rufus looked up from his sleep, saw Ron and Kim, gave Ron a tiny thumbs' up, and punched a code into the screen. The screen flashed and then went dark.

--

On the other end, Wade got the code, nodded with a smile, and called the worried Doctors Possible.

"She's all right, Dr. Possible: it finally happened," he said, and Anne smiled.

"Thank you, Wade," she said and cut the connection, "and, thank You," she looked up and smiled.

--

When she finally was able to stop crying, she looked up into the brown pools of love that were the eyes of one Ronald Dean Stoppable, smiled, took his face in her hands, and kissed him with a fervor that curled his toenails and took his breath away for an entirely _different_ reason. Then, she went to the back of the Sloth and pulled out two blankets: "for sitting, Mr. Nasty-Mind," she grinned; Ron smiled and took a deep breath, giving thanks Above that she had calmed a bit because, regardless of his feelings and their promise, a bit more of that would have had him 'yeilding to Temptation.' They took the blankets down to the edge of the small rocky outcropping that jutted over their favorite part of the beach. After spreading them out on the only patch of dirt and grass on the huge rock, they each sat on a blanket, far enough apart that they could look at each other and close enough so that they could see each others' eyes.

Then Kim began to talk and Ron listened...listened as Kim told him, in great detail, all that she had not told anyone about what had happened to her from the first time she had stepped onto the graduation stage up to that wonderful moment when he and Shego had appeared. Ron listened, glowing blue more than once at the way in which Kim had been treated as a toy, a pawn, a trophy. She told him how she had felt the entire time: from her fears as she rose into the unknown ship to her fears as Warhok had told her and Drakken that he had conquered the entire planet. She told him how she had felt drained, defeated, and wanted to resign to her fate as she stood, her feet and hands bound in the electronic locks.

"I said, in my mind, that I wanted to quit," Kim said, and Ron looked at her in surprise. "Then, I heard my BFBFF say 'that's quitter talk, KP, and you're better than that,'" she smiled through eyes red from her tears, and Ron smiled as she reached out her right hand.

"I felt you coming, Ron, as sure I was of it as I am of my love for you, yours for me, and as certain as I am of the the fact that, indeed, 'Anything is possible for a Possible.' I was as certain of you coming as I was of our love, and that," she grinned, "that, my darling BFBFF, that certainty pulled me out of my funk and prepared me to face Warhok and Warmonga the second time on _**my**_ terms, not theirs.

"Drakken was a surprise, though," she grinned, and Ron laughed as his fingertips touched hers for just a moment before he scooted over and wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her head to his shoulders.

"Now, this feels good," he whispered, and Kim giggled silently. They watched the moon rising over the lake, and their fingers intertwined...just as their souls already had, years ago, into a single complex thread.

They sat for awhile, and them Kim asked, "Ron, what did you do?"

"Well," he grinned in the twilight, "After I looked up and realized that you weren't in my grasp..." he was quiet for a few moments, waiting for the expected response.

'KP explosion in:

_**3**_

_**...**_

_**...**_

_**...**_

_**2**_

_**...**_

_**...**_

_**...**_

_**1**_

_**...**_

_**...**_

"_**Ron**_!" she laughed and yelled at the same time. "Were you looking _**up**_ my dress when I was rising?"

He laughed. "No, KP: I saw your dress, your gown, but I saw nothing else but your face, mainly because my eyes didn't want to believe what I was seeing. After we got everyone out of the stands and inside, and while Mr. Barkin and Nana were winning their Oscars for Best Acting for their performances with each other in the gym, I'd managed to get through to Wade and get him to the school. He, your Dad, and I talked: remember, we had no way of knowing where you were; but I knew we were gonna need a rocket. That was when your Dad told me, and...well, Shego and I came after you and Dr. D.

" KP," Ron changed direction, "were you serious, earlier, about...you know...?"

She stopped and thought for a long moment before she responded. "Yes, Ron, at the time I was." She stared out over the lake. "And, once again, my Best Friend, Boy Friend, Fiancee saved me, only this time from myself," and the words made her smile.

"Well, KP, you know me," he grinned in the dark and pulled her closer, feeling her warmth through her long-sleeve purple pullover blouse, "always the distraction."

"Some distraction," she laughed and snuggled closer, listening to his breathing and the beating of his heart.

In her mind's eye she heard Sensei chuckle: 'His heart beats strong for you, Kim Possible: Boo-yah,' and she laughed inside as she leaned on the maker of her dreams.

After they fell asleep, Rufus woke up and saw them outside, leaning on each other. He pulled another blanket out of through the car window and took it to them, gently climbing and pulling the blanket across their shoulders before curling up on the ground underneath two folds of blanket, enjoying the outdoors with no supervillians or hairless love-struck cats to watch for.

--

Kim woke to the smells and sounds of breakfast, and she squeezed her eyes as she counted the smells and sounds:

She could the sound of eggs scrambling and some form of meat sizzling. She inhaled and smiled: onions, peppers, garlic, and sausage, based on the smell of the sage.

She peeked through her eyelids and realized that she was lying down on one blanket and covered with two more, still on the rock outcropping, and Ron was several feet away with a grill and a table, complete with tablecloth and-

'With flowers,' she grinned.

She realized that she must have made some small sound because Ron called out to her: "Good Morning, Miss Lazy Pants: it's time to get up, have breakfast, and head back to reality."

"Reality bites, Daddy" she whined in her best Pre-K voice. "I don't waaaaa-na," she replied, and Ron grinned as he turned the grill off and covered the pans, moving them to the side away from any residual heat.

"Oh, really, now," he walked toward her, and she twisted herself up in the blankets even tighter.

"No, and you can't make me," she sang, and Ron laughed as he stepped up to her.

"I can't, can _IEEEEE_!" Ron went flying as his legs were swept from underneath him by a stealthy Kimmie, and he fell on top of her, his arms fyying out at the last second and bracketing her that he didn't crush her.

"I can't, huh?" he grinned, and she got her first, true, 'good morning' kiss: one that, when she would look back on it from the future, would bring a smile to her eyes.

"Good morning, KP," Ron grinned, and he feared, for the eyes had 'the look':

"_Good morning, Ron-shine, Kim-mie says 'hello_,'" she sang, and he jumped up and ran back to the grill, laughing as she continued "_you landed a-boooove me, I giggled below._"

Rufus crawled from under his makeshift burrow, took one look and sniffed: there was no cheese, but the food was fresh, so he scampered to Ron and begged.

--

'Now, for the hardest thing I've ever done,' Kim thought as she rang the doorbell.

The door opened, and the smiling minister pulled her inside and hugged her tight.

"Kimberly!" he shouted. "Praise Him! I'm glad you could find time to see her off."

"Reverend Jenkins, I'd push the Tweebs off the road if I had to before I would miss seeing my BFGF head off to Yale," Kim laughed.

"I think it's ironic, in a way," Kim continued. "I've traveled the world, and I'm staying in Middleton. It seems like you, your family, and Monique just moved here, and now she's heading back East," she added, and she realized that both of them had tears in their eyes.

"Well, I won't have to worry about her taking care of herself after this past May, it seems," he grinned, and Kim laughed.

"Sir, you _**never**_ had to worry about Mon taking care of herself," Kim replied.

"She's upstairs, Kim," Reverend Jenkins grinned. "She said she has something for you, and she won't tell me what it is," and Kim bounded up the stairs and knocked on her BFGF's door.

The door flew open, and Mon yanked Kim into the room, closing the door behind her.

Kim took one look and did her best Coco Banana impersonation:

"Oh, no, he _**didn't**_!!"

"He _**DID**_!" Monique squealed and waved the ring-clad hand with excitement, and the two young women grabbed each other and hugged for minutes, squealing and crying and jumping until the energy level in the room had dropped to small nuclear-pile level.

"When?" Kim asked when the both sat on the bed, and Monique had her hand in permanent presentation mode.

"Last night, at dinner at Sato's: that crazy man had Sato hide it in a bowl of PFP and ice cream with a yellow ribbon tied to it," she started, and she stated to cry. "He held up another piece of ribbon in his hand after I pulled the ring out. He wiped the ring, removed the ribbon, moved next to me, and pulled me into his lap and proposed, right there in the restaurant in front of a packed house of guests!

"Then, he said that he was tying the two yellow ribbons around a tree in his front yard, and that the ribbons were staying there until we got married," she added with a massive smile.

"After that, what else could I do but say yes?

"You could have made him serve you more PFP...that, or get down on one knee," Kim grinned, and Monique punched her.

"GF, that's phat: you know the boy-- oh, I get it," Monique grinned. "Kim, you are almost as evil as your brothers."

"Your dad doesn't know?" Kim asked, and Monique shook her head 'no.'

"I haven't told him or Mom yet: I had to tell my BFGF first."

"Mon," Kim began, and the two best friends fell into each other and cried tears of joy for finding men who truly loved them for who they were.

--

Kim looked in her closet, wincing and smiling at the same time.

So much was gone, yet so much had replaced it.

And now, she was leaving it for something different, something new and exciting.

'Well, at least it isn't Mystery Meat,' she grinned. Jim and Tim had, single-handedly, managed to corral the entire stock of the 'wonder food' ('We all wondered what it was, and when we found out, we wished we hadn't,' Kim grinned) and harness it for something besides the school power source. They had enough to keep the school 'off the grid' for several years, but they had managed to convince Slim to ship the vast majority back to the Bunker.

She picked up Raggedy Ann from her place of honor on the window seat bench and sat, hugging her for a few moments, before she placed her carefully back on the window seat, kissed her forehead, and picked up her last bag containing the things she'd used to get ready this morning. Pandaroo was already packed in his padded box, so he was ready to go. She walked to the closet and opened it one final time, looking at the almost-empty space and the false panel behind which was her battle suit safe. She smiled, walked to the open door of her bedroom, turned out the lights, and closed the door to her loft.

Her old life was over.

Her new life was beginning.

She was ready, now.

She started to close her door, and something didn't feel right. She pulled her hand back from the doorknob, and strings of something seemed to tie her hand to-

"_**TWEEBS!**__**" **_she shouted as she closed the door and found that she had, indeed, received a going-away present: a carefully-selected mix of hair sprays, pastes, and mixed dry wall spackle on her room's outer doorknob.

"I'm gonna miss you, too," she smiled as she wiped her hands on the towels that they left for her as part of their going-away gift, "mainly because the rifles aren't loaded," she called out, heading downstairs to choruses of "HOO-SHA!"

Anne and James were at the bottom of the stairs, holding hands as Kim reached the top landing.

"Our baby's leaving home," Anne whispered, and James squeezed her hand, trying to come up with an explanation for why his face was wet.

'It must be the humidity in this new house,' he concluded as Kim came down the stairs with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes.

"Mom, I'm not a baby anymore," Kim said, and the four-old in pigtails flashed before James' eyes.

"We'd better go before the parking lots get packed," James barely got the words out before he was hugged by his daughter.

"I love you, Daddy," she whispered with a smile and tears both on her face.

"I love you too, Kimmie-cub, my wonderful, amazing, daughter," he whispered back.

He reached up, put his hands on her shoulders, pushing her back so he could kiss her forehead as he had done on that first day of Pre-K: "Remember, Kimmie-cub: 'Anything's possible, for a Possible!'"

She laughed. "I think I got it, Daddy: thank you," and she turned to her mother, now showing with the 'Tweebs 2.0', and grinned. "I would say 'don't do anything I wouldn't do', but..." she winked, and Anne grabbed her and hugged her as tight as she could.

"That's my line, Kimmie," she grinned into her daughter's hair, it now having become a tear collector.

"We'd better go before we have to mop the carpets," Kim grinned, and they headed out of the house.

--

"Brother no go!" Hana was adamant, and Ron stood up on the chair and pulled her down from the ceiling. Hana did not like the activity that was going on in the house when Ron was moving things out of the attic, and she was especially upset when Ron had managed to get her to understand that he would not be sleeping there every night from now on.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her down, him stepping out of the chair at the same time. "Hana, you agreed: no more running on the ceiling more than once a week, or no stuffed bison plushy when I come back to visit."

"No Bison?" She looked up into Ron's eyes, and he knew that the PDP was definitely a woman's genetic trait.

Luckily for him, he had had 14 years of KP practice. "_NO_ bison," he re-stated, and Hana giggled.

"No running, and Brother bring lots of bison?" Hana knew how to work Ron, already.

"Brother bring herd of bison if Hana no run on ceiling at all," he stated, and his mother gasped.

"Hana no run, and Hana get herd;" she stated, and Ron nodded.

She threw her arms around Ron's neck. "Miss brother," she announced, and she didn't see the tears in Ron's eyes...But, Jean and Gene did, and the both smiled.

"We'd better go, Ronald," his dad announced.

"But, Dad, I didn't pack my computer: I was using it last night," Ron said and headed back up the stairs. A throat clearing stopped him, and he turned and looked behind his parents at-

"Dad," Ron's voice trailed as he looked at the new computer laptop box and full setup, complete with external monitor and color laser printer. "Is that the newest...?"

"Yes, son, it is," Gene grinned. "Saving the world does entitle you to at least one perk, and this one just happens to be a new tablet computer," he added with a smile, and the two grabbed boxes and headed outside.

"Dad?" Ron almost dropped the box when he stepped onto the front porch: sitting in the driveway were both the station wagon and a late-model sedan.

"I know it's not new, son, but I think it's time the scooter had a rest, so-" Gene started and never finished because Ron put their boxes down and grabbed his dad into a massive hug.

Gene looked out and waved at Carlene and Stephen Best as they drove away, his co-conspirators who had driven the car over after dropping Sarah off at college.

"I know, Dad," Ron grinned, "'this was', right?" he asked, and Gene nodded. He and Ron had a standing joke about the phrase 'this is our way of telling you,' ever since Gene and Jean had dropped Hana into Ron's life, and Sensei had added to it, later on.

"Thanks, Dad," he said after he pulled away, and both men saw 'manly tears' in each others' eyes. "We'd better get these boxes in the car, ok?"

"You'll need these, son," and Gene tossed him something. Ron caught it and realized that it was a set of keys for the car with a key ring on it emblazoned with the 'Team Possible' logo. "Key ring courtesy of Wade," Gene grinned, and Ron laughed as he used the remote unlock to open the doors for the boxes.

"Brother," Ron turned and looked, and his heart soared and sank at the same time:

His sister, Hana ('Wow, I never thought I'd say that about anyone, let alone 'the intruder,'' Ron laughed inside) was sitting on his mother's shoulders, and-

Ron walked quickly back and, just as Hana jumped to the ground, hugged his mother, feeling all of the love she'd had for him for 18 years seemingly pour our in her tears.

"Son," she whispered, "I _**am**_ so very proud of you," she started, and that opened Ron's 'Water Works'; the tears that he swore he wouldn't shed came out unashamedly.

"I love you, Mom," Ron whispered back, "even if you and Mrs. Dr. P. do have all of the male grocery workers in a tiz-zy," he laughed, and he felt his mother's face heat as she blushed.

He pulled back, and he confirmed his suspicion.

"Ronald!" she chided with a grin, and she grabbed him and hugged him again. "Way to make an old woman happy," she laughed and kissed his forehead.

"When I find one, Mom, I'll let you know," he reached up, kissed her cheek, and ran to the car laughing.

"She's still mine, son," Gene laughed as he got into his car, and Ron got into his ('_**My**_ Car!' He thought with a big grin on his face. 'Wait until KP sees this!').

--

Celia had tolerated the lines, but now she looked at the electronic lock with disdain. "Why can't they just hire guards?" she groused.

"Because the guards could be the ones that attack the students," the girl behind her announced with an air of authority.

"Daddy," Celia ignored the girl's comment, "you didn't have to come: I know you have better things to do," she stated.

"None better than helping my wonderful daughter get into her closet of a room," her dad laughed, and several of the parents looked at him and kept their comments unspoken in reply ot the strange pair.

Once they had made it through registration, Celia had lead her Dad over to the diagram they had posted on one wall that showed how to get to each of the Residence Halls where the pods were located. After reading the directions, they headed out to her building and entered the lobby. Temporary signs directed the students to the hallways and elevator banks. Celia's residences were on the first floor, so they walkd down the central hall to the door numbered 1316. It was propped open with boxes ('someone's heare already,' Celia thought) and she and her Dad walked into the living area.

Once they entered, Celia looked around with askance and realized that, based on the size of the living area, all hopes of her misunderstanding the size of the rooms vanished like promises to write and call some of the boys she'd met in Euorope.

She saw a diagram of the pod configuration on one wall and moved over there to find her room. Second floor: yep, she was definitely going to need the elevator. But the only other closed door in the living area looked like a closet or bathroom door, so it couldn't be the elevator. She looked further, and she found what had to be the elevator; it had ot be one, if for no other reason then someone had stacked a few boxes beside the doors, almost invisible by blending in so well with the wall. Unfortunatel, there was no call button that she could see.

"How do I get in this thing?" she asked the air, and as if by magic the doors opened, and a girl stepped out. Celia and her dad quickly stepped inside with the few boxes they had with them as the girl picked up a couple of boxes that were stacked there and returned to the elevator with them.

As the doors closed, Celia was looking for the floor buttons but could only see a card slot. After they watched the girl insert what looked like her keycard, Celia did the same and the elevator started to rise. It stopped on the next floor, and the door opened behind them Celia realized that the elevator had two doors, and that this was her floor.

"The doors won't open unless you're authorized," she replied as she stepped out, followed by Celia and her father.

"Can't they be overridden?" her father asked, and the girl laughed.

"Only by the FBI, CIA, Fire Department, local law enforcement...oh, and Global Justice," the girl replied wiht a grin in her voice. "Didn't you read the brochure? WLLC is the best! I'm glad they've got the security here," she added as she keyed her door and entered her room.

"Well, she's stuffy," Celia stated and then looked on the nameplate on the door:

Sarah Janine Best.

"Maybe, just maybe, she knows Kimberly Possible," she said to herself as she and her father began to fill her room to overflowing.

--

Boxes awaited each of the students entering the new facilities, and each was stacked outside their bedroom. Outside the living are in the common hallway were mail drops for each resident, and Kim found her box filled, and the overflow was stacked neatly in another box in on the floor. She stacked the overflow on top of the box, her purse on top of it, and moved all to the front of the door.

'It begins,' she thought, and she inserted the key she had picked up at registration into the electronic lock. It clicked and opened, and she pulled out the key and looked at it.

James, behind her, didn't understand why she laughed so hard she almost dropped the key...that is, until she handed him the key, picked up the box and purse, and walked into her living area. He looked at it and chuckled:

The manufacturer was WLLC: WadeLogistics LLC.

--

Sarah was finishing her setup of her MOS (machine on steroids) when she had a knock on the door and a female voice that she recognized from earlier ask "may I come in?"

She triggered the remote unlock, and the door opened to the young woman she had seen earlier in the elevator. 'Her skin is darker than Daddy's,' Sarah noted, 'and than Monique's: she could be a true 'African queen' with the way she carries herself.'

"I'm sorry, we didn't meet earlier," the young woman walked over to Sarah's desk and stuck out her hand. "I'm Celia Dane-Parsons," she stated.

"I'm Sarah Best," Sarah stood up and shook her hand, then sat back down and opened her last box. She began to pull her personal items from the box, starting with her pencil holder.

"You're from Middleton?" Celia asked after Sarah pulled out her yearbook and put it in the shelf under the right part of her desk.

"Mom moved here when I was younger, looking for a job, and she found work and love at the same location: she found work and Daddy," Sarah grinned, "and I found a new Dad in the deal," she smiled and pulled the picture of him and her together out of the box and placed it on her desk.

Celia didn't look at the picture. "New dad, huh? Looks like we have something in common," she smiled and sat in the chair next to the desk where Sarah pointed. "My 'biodad' was a dog and screwed around on Mom: she caught him, and we left when I was young. My Dad, now, is a diamond: he's rich, successful, and loves both my Mom and me to the max. He even gave me two years off so I could see Europe: those Euro-boys are to die for, Sarah," she smiled, marking her position of superiority.

"Your mom's lucky to have found someone so wonderful, and so is my mom," Sarah chuckled. "Dad took some flack over marrying Mom, because of his height and all, but it all worked out in the end: he's a professor here at MIST, and Mom works at the Space Center," she pulled out the family picture and placed it on the top of the cabinet, and Celia looked at it for the first time.

"Your father's black?" she sounded surprised.

"Yeah, and short, too," Sarah laughed, pointing at the picture of him and her together on her desk. Celia now looked at it.

"He's a dwarf," she stated, and Sarah looked at her with sad eyes of disappointment.

"'Little person,' please and thank you," she corrected Celia.

Celia was not accustomed to being corrected, but she chalked it up to Sarah's not knowing any better. "What do you like to do, Sarah?"

Sarah took out a set of pictures in a five-fold frame and set it down on the desk in front of Celia. "This is me: shooting, my karate, my BF Chip, my family, and my friends. That's pretty much who I am; that, and build and upgrade my computer," she smiled, and Celia leaned in to look:

She glanced over Sarah with the pistols and the karate kicks, smiled at the BF photo ('cute, but noting special: I wonder what they see in each other', she thought), the family (little brothers and sisters: that would explain what happened after marriage) and the friends-

Celia leaned forward and stared at the picture of Sarah and the larger black man with his arms wrapped around her shoulder, her arm around his waist, and smile on both faces. He was wearing a uniform of some sort, and Sarah looked like she had just come from a fight: some small tears in her clothes, her hair a mess, and her face dirtied with soot and grime.

It was the man that caught her attention. He looked familiar, but she knew it couldn't be 'Him.'

--

Ron was whistling as he unpacked the docking station when he heard a knock on his door.

"Open," he called, and the door, not closed all the way, pushed open.

Ron turned and looked at the tall, large sandy-haired young man with features that reminded Ron of someone from China who had now stepped into his room. He looked at Ron and bowed.

Ron put down the packing material and stepped up to him and bowed in return, coming up with a grin. "Have we met?"

"No, Ron Stoppable, but your fame precedes you," he replied, and Ron blushed. "You and Kim Possible saved Earth."

"Well, me and a few thousand other people fighting worldwide," Ron grinned. "You have me at the disadvantage."

"I'm sorry: Evan Whittaker," Evan stuck out his hand. "Glad to meet you, Ron," and Ron shook his hand.

"Glad to meet you too, Evan: did I detect the faint order of LeGoop?" Ron smiled, and Evan grinned.

"A 'Gooper,' and he saves the world: I knew Kim Possible had good taste, and now it's proof-positive," Evan laughed, and he sat and talked with Ron as Ron continued to empty boxes, Rufus fast asleep in the cage in the closet, out of the firing line of Ron's projectile unpacking.

The individual, unique tone of his PosComm sounded, and Ron grinned and picked it up.

"Yes?" he grinned and pointed the remote at the door. "It's open, Mongo," and put the phone down.

"Who is that?" Evan asked.

"Mongo, bringing candy," Ron laughed, and the door opened. A woman came in, pulling a cart.

"Hello, Ronald," the woman spoke, and Evan was convinced that he had to become Ron's best friend, if for no other reason to but to get the 'leftover women.' This woman was in a uniform he had never seen before, and she made the uniform look very, very good, indeed.

"Rebecca Jane," Ron grinned and walked to her. Evan's blood pressure shot up about 5 points he looked at her.

"Hello, handsome," Rebecca Jane purred, and then she laughed and hugged Ron.

Evan's blood pressure shot up another 25 points.

'Waiter, I want what he's having...to go,' Evan thought and drooled inside.

--

Kim stared at the two pieces of paper for the fifth time, still shocked, surprised, and...

"We don't want the 'world-saver' here: we like our lives just like they are!" read one piece.

"Go home and kill some more aliens for us, red-headed b-" the paper was torn, but Kim knew what the remainder said.

"Forgive me, but I did not feel that that was an appropriate welcoming sign to be on your door, Keem Possible," Kim looked up with a start as the voice wasn't familiar and found two young women standing in her room. One looked familiar, and then it clicked:

"Catherine?" she smiled.

"Hai, Miss Possible. This is the young woman who found your 'welcoming' signs," she nodded toward the other young woman, who was smiling and blushing at the same time.

"Thank you. I don't know what my Dad would have said if he had seen the sign on my door when we got here. I'm Kim Possible," Kim was standing as she started to speak and walked to the young woman, holding out here hand.

"I know who you are, Mess Possible, and I cannot wait to get to be around you for the next four years," The young woman said with a smile and a confusing combination of excitement and shyness in her voice. "I am Jamie Vizella Santos, from Peru. We have heard of you and your exploits in my country, as well. Thank you, on behalf of my family: my little brother had one of the Diablo toys, and it almost killed him until it started to shrink, as if by magic."

"Jamie, mucho gusto," Kim replied, and Jamie grinned. "I'm sorry I don't know much Spanish, but I am willing to learn, if you're willing to help me," she continued: "I've learned over the past few years that I have had a problem in the past accepting compliments, but I'm trying to fix that. So, my response to you is:

"Thank you. I'm glad I could help," and Kim stuck out her hand and shook the hand of the first person she'd ever met in Middleton who was from Peru.

The individual and unique tone of her PosComm sounded, and Kim grinned and picked it up.

"Yes?" she replied, and the grin got bigger as she pointed the remote at the door. "It's open, Mongo," and put the phone down.

"Who is that?" Jamie asked.

"Mongo, bringing candy," Kim laughed, and the door opened.

"Courtesy of my new daughter and her fiancée-to-be," the woman laughed as she entered, pulling a cart, and she turned to face the room with a smile on her face and a chilled bottle in her hand.

"From Joss, as a welcoming gift, Kim," Dr. Elizabeth Director-Possible said, and Jamie knew the face of the head of Global Justice and smiled very, very big.

--

The individual tone of the PosComm sounded, and Sarah hit her mouse, throwing the voice onto her speakers.

"This is Sarah Best."

"How's my favorite pod and freak fighter?" the voice boomed over the speakers, and Celia felt a cold shiver down her spine: for what reason, she didn't know, but the voice sounded familiar.

"I'm cool, C. P.: where are you?"

"Outside your door, and Mongo brings candy, courtesy of Wade and Joss. May I come in?"

"I'm not decent," Sarah grinned, and Celia laughed.

"I'm sorry; if you have company, I can come back," he said.

"No way! She saw your picture, and she needs to see the man whose arm I was wrapped in," and she clicked the remote.

The door opened, and a man backed into the room, pulling a cart containing a vase of roses, a single bud vase with a rose in it, and a cooler holding what looked to Celia like a bottle of wine.

"The juice, courtesy of the 'Juice Piggy,'" he grinned, and he picked up the bud vase and turned. "And, this is for-". C. P. dropped the bud vase as he stared at the young African-American woman in shock, delight, and fear.

"Sarah?" he whispered.

"Yes?" came from both women, and they turned at stared at each other.

"It's him," Celia growled.

"It's you," Sarah whispered in awe and amazement. She remembered the story that C. P. had told her in the spring, and her eyes opened wide as she turned and stared at C. P., staring at Celia/Sarah and mouthing:

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

--

**Author's afterward:**

The beginning of college at MIST actually started as high school ended; the summer prior to the fall semester is always a cornucopia of exciting events for both the institution as well as the students. For MIST, it's even more so this year, with Middleton having been in the center of the Lowardian invasion events.

Some things will remain the same, and some will change, drastically….

And, some, like C. P., may not make it out of the room alive.

There are some nods to some writers sprinkled throughout this chapter, done out of respect for their work.

--

Next, on _**Birth, and ReBirth 2: College time Blues:**_

**Chapter 3: Revelations: it begins...**

--

Thank you, to all of you, for supporting all of us on this new journey.

Special thank, especially, to my wonderful betas Star-Eva01, ja, and kt, without whom this would not be the story it is. Any errors in this copy are mine. Who knew that I could have betas from opposite ends of the age spectrum that agree on so many things, both that are good and that needed to be 'kicked up a notch'?

Thanks again for reading, and please review.

--


	3. C3: Revelations: it begins

_**Birth, and ReBirth 02**_**: College Time Blues.**

Disclaimer/Author's Notes: Kim Possible and all the characters of the show are owned by the Disney Company. Original lyrics to the songs referenced in this story and the music are the property of the respective authors, artists and labels. All other characters can be blamed on the author (he, however, is not responsible for all of their actions at all times, being barely responsible for himself most of the time).

This is a strictly not-for-profit, just-for-fun work.

Enjoy! Please read and review.

--

**A/N Forward: **

High School is over for our heroes Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable, and it wasn't the end of the world.

It _**was**_ the end of high school, however, and the beginning of a totally new adventure for them and all of their friends and families...and foes.

It's a Birth of new emotions, friendships, and ways of life, and a ReBirth of old emotions, friendships, and ways of life; but, after all, isn't that what college is all about?

The beginning of college at MIST actually started as high school ended; the summer prior to the fall semester is always a cornucopia of exciting events for both the institution as well as the students. For MIST, it's even more so this year, with Middleton having been in the center of the Lowardian invasion events.

Some things will remain the same, and some will change, drastically….

It's time for everyone leaving high school, and others, to have the _**College Time Blues**_….

--

**Chapter 3: Revelations: it begins....**

--

The individual tone of the PosComm sounded, and Sarah hit her mouse, throwing the voice onto her speakers.

"This is Sarah Best."

"How's my favorite pod and freak fighter?" the voice boomed over the speakers, and Celia felt a cold shiver down her spine: for what reason, she didn't know, but the voice sounded familiar.

"I'm cool, C. P.: where are you?"

"I'm outside your door, and Mongo brings candy, courtesy of Wade and Joss. May I come in?"

"I'm not decent," Sarah grinned, and Celia laughed.

"I'm sorry; if you have company, I can come back," he said.

"No way! She saw your picture, and she needs to see the man whose arm I was wrapped in," and she clicked the remote.

The door opened, and a man backed into the room, pulling a cart containing a vase of roses, a single bud vase with a rose in it, and a cooler holding what looked to Celia like a bottle of wine.

"The juice, courtesy of the 'Juice Piggy,'" he grinned, and he picked up the bud vase and turned. "And, this is for-". C. P. dropped the bud vase as he stared at the young African-American woman in shock, delight, and fear.

Silence filled the room, and C. P. finally broke the flimsy truce with a single question.

"Sarah?" he whispered.

"Yes?" came from both women, and they turned at stared at each other.

"It's him," Celia growled softly.

Sarah looked at Celia with surprise. "It's you," Sarah whispered. She remembered the story that C. P. had told her in the spring, and her eyes opened wide as she turned and stared at C. P., staring at Celia/Sarah and mouthing:

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

"Sarah?" he said, a bit louder, and Celia laughed at him.

"So, you finally decided to crawl out from under that rock you've been hiding under, huh?" she asked with more than a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"Celia!" Sarah said, shocked at the young woman's response.

"He's the scumbag bio-dad, Sarah: the slime that screwed around on my mother, his wife. He dumped us on our own while he went gallivanting around the world," Celia snarked with a grin on her face that reminded Sarah, very much, of Shego on a very, very bad day before the Lowardians came.

The accusation shocked Sarah, and she had only one way to respond:

"WHAT?" she yelled, coming up out of her chair. She grabbed Celia by the shoulders and pulled her to her feet, and the two ladies were facing each other, toe-to-toe, with their faces glaring directly into one another.

"It's true," Celia replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You're whack," Sarah replied calmly.

C. P. recognized the look that was now on Sarah's face – and became instantly worried. "Check your facts, girl," she continued. "Does he look like he's loaded, like you?"

"That's what Mother told me."

"Well, then," Sarah's voice got a bit louder and more intense, "your mother must have fed you some bad Vienna sausage from Smarty-Mart, 'cause you've been fed some really bad Intel, girl," Sarah countered with a protective snarl that would have made a lioness proud.

--

Ron suddenly stopped and looked at Rebecca Jane. "Who else from GJ is here, Rebecca Jane?"

"C. P. and Betty, Ron: why?"

"Something's wrong: listen," and all three got quiet and could hear shouts coming through the vents.

"Somebody's getting their beans ground, big time," Evan laughed after listening for a few moments but was silenced by glares from both Ron and Rebecca Jane.

"That's Sarah," Ron announced, dropping his box of books onto his bed. "Let's go," he added, but Rebecca Jane was already out the door and calling up student location information on her handheld.

Evan looked at the now-empty room, shrugged, and followed the two out the door.

--

"I would never eat something as bourgeois as Vienna sausages," Celia replied with as much indignation as she could muster. The look on her faces was as if someone had just told her the main course for dinner that evening was freshly-roasted skunk butt served with moldy Hollandaise sauce and a side of burned white asparagus spears.

"Well," Sarah took a step forward, and Celia instinctively stepped back, "your bourgeois meal is another person's dinner feast, so you'd better get ready to learn _that_, here and now. College is not your huge rich toy chest: it's the closest thing to the real world you've ever had."

"How _dare_ you lecture me!" Celia's voice rose to equal Sarah's. "Just who in the _heck_ do you think you are, telling me what I can think or about him?"

"I'm one of the people who has been blessed enough to have her tail-end saved by that wonderful man," Sarah pointed at C. P., "and to have watched him save the life of a very dear friend," she added, nodding at C. P. as if to make certain that he understood just what she could tell Celia about Anne's disappearance and the event surrounding it.

"And," Sarah continued, her voice softer but even more laser-like, "I'm one of the people who went up against the Lowardians to save the world for people as sorry as you and your kind: those who think that other people are less than human.

"Well, let me tell you, little missy: the Lowardians didn't care how much you had: you'd have been just as dead. They didn't give a dang whether you were rich, poor, or middle-class.

"You know, people like you make me wonder, sometimes, if we should have let them win," Sarah added, and a shocked look came on C. P.'s face.

"People like _me_?" Celia snarled. "I'll have you know that 'people like _me_' are the reason that 'people like _you_' even have a place to live," she stabbed a finger into Sarah's chest.

C. P. knew he needed backup: he hated to call her, of all people, but he had no choice. So, unseen by either of the two young women, he moved his hand to the commutation device on his wrist. Using just his sense of touch honed sharp over the years, he pressed one slightly raised button twice to let her know he needed her but that it was not a danger situation.

--

"Well, that's a surprise," Dr. Elizabeth (Betty) Director-Possible smiled as she glanced down at the communicator on her wrist that had just notified her of an incoming message and read the name of the person who had just signaled her.

"What?"

"C. P., asking for help," she chuckled. "And, it's not an emergency, either."

"Where is he?" Kim asked standing and grabbing her Kimmunicator 2.0 from her desk as she and Betty headed for the door.

"He went to see Sarah," Betty replied.

"That shouldn't be a problem," Kim added as the two women left the room, leaving Jamie and Cathryn standing. The two young women looked at each other and, without saying a word, both headed for the door to follow Kim and Betty.

--

"Besides," Celia continued, unaware of the crowd forming outside the pod's closed door, "what would _you_ know about money?"

"My last name used to be Brotherson," Sarah said calmly, and Celia's face blanched. She knew who Big Daddy Brotherson was, and she knew exactly what kind of money and power he wielded.

"I lived in your world, Celia, and I like mine much better: you meet a better class of people here," Sarah added, taking another step forward, backing Celia against the wall.

"You have no idea what class is, Sarah, especially if you're defending him," Celia shot back. "He's scum, and he doesn't deserve to live after the way he treated my mother."

"Your mother did the dumping, Celia, not the other way around," Sarah smiled calmly, and C. P. waited for the explosion.

He was waiting expectantly, concentrating on the exchange and the upcoming explosion so intently that he didn't hear the door silently open behind him.

"_**LIAR**_!" Celia yelled, the force of her voice almost blowing Sarah's hair back. "Just what did he tell you?" Celia's yell lowing in volume until it was just a hair above her normal tone. "Or," Celia grinned a smile that C. P. recognized as being the exactly the same as his ex-wife always had on her face just before she was about to unload a super-size serving of nasty, "is he nailing _you_ like he did that other little hussy?" Celia paused just for a heartbeat before adding more venom to the snake hiss that had become her voice. "He always did like them young," she added. "Or, maybe, he's doing your mom, this time? He always was a home-wrecker, and he probably still is," she smiled a smile that boiled C. P.'s twisted evil smile on her face making C.P.'s blood boil.

Sarah's face went blank for a moment as her eyes unfocused, but then they refocused and she moved to strike a blow that C. P. knew she would regret later if she connected with it, so he did the only thing he could think of doing:

C. P. moved, almost instantaneously, between Celia and Sarah, blocking the path of her the incoming strike he was sure was coming but hoped wouldn't.

"Sarah," he said calmly, and Sarah's eyes focus now on C.P. as he continued to look calmly at her.

"You are in charge of your emotions, Sarah: you know that, and you are responsible for your reactions to others, not their actions toward you or others," he said, still preparing to block her shot by raising his arm in front of his face….and got it there , just in time, as her strike connected with his forearm with such force that C. P. let out an involuntary shout.

The sound of C.P.'s yell broke Sarah from her mode, and she stared in amazement at her new target, now rubbing his arm gingerly through his shirt.

"That's gonna leave a mark," he grinned, and Sarah stared blankly.

"Why did you stop her?" Celia asked in a tone of voice that was like a bully denied an upcoming pleasure, like taking Sarah to court for assault, and C. P. whipped around and stared at Celia.

"Because, dear daughter I haven't seen in ages, I wasn't ready to see you in the hospital or the morgue," C. P. said calmly.

"I don't believe you," Celia replied as she crossed her arms as she thought about what her Daddy's lawyers would do with Sarah and her family for just a small bruise. She was brought back to the events happening in front of her as C. P. rolled up his sleeve and showed her the massive bruise that was forming on his forearm.

"You think I did that tripping over a can of Russian caviar?" C. P. joked, and he winced when Celia touched it.

"I'm…sorry, C. P.," Sarah whispered. "She was saying things about you…" her voice trailed, and Celia was shocked to see tears on Sarah's face.

"Spankin' distraction, Doc: but, next time, don't get hurt so bad," a voice came from over Sarah's shoulder, and Celia was shocked to see Ron Stoppable leaning on the left doorframe, Kim Possible leaning on the right doorframe, and an older woman wearing an eye patch and dressed in some form of uniform standing just in front of them, barely in the room. Behind them was what seemed to be a large group of students, all staring into the room, all silent: much like a as a hall filled with mice, all watching to see if the cat was going to pounce.

"Miss Dane-Parsons," the woman stepped forward, "I'm Dr. Elizabeth Director-Possible, head of Global Justice," and the noise level dropped about 40 decibels in the hall. "I don't know what your mother Beverly told you about Commander Adams, but I get the feeling that you have a 'different version of the truth.' Believe me when I tell you: Commander Adams would die before he would have allowed you or your mother to come to any harm."

"And, you know that, how?" Celia asked defiantly. "And, how do you know our names: mine and my mother's?"

"It's my job to keep up with my teammates, Miss Dane-Parsons, and their families: that's what good leaders do," Betty smiled. "And I had the distinct pleasure, one Christmas while your father was away 'on business', of making certain that your Christmas presents were delivered. Do you remember the Christmas you got the dozen yellow roses, the purple orchid, and the "Doctor Becky" doll? I believe you were seven at the time," Betty smiled, and Celia's eyes grew wide.

Celia's voice was small now: "Mother said she and my dad gave those to me.…"

"She probably threw away all the gift tags your father sent with the presents, even the one he sent you for your High School graduation. He bought you a copy of your favorite book," Betty smiled, and even C. P. looked surprised at her revelation.

"He can't be that perfect: he was never there for me," she said finally.

"But, he was there for me, Celia," Ron interjected. "Dr. Adams saved my life," he said casually, and Evan looked surprised.

"Well, Sarah, at least you're not one of those 'leftovers,'" Celia added with a smirk, and Cathryn came unglued.

"I am one of those 'leftovers', Miss Celia," Cathryn stepped forward. "Both my parents and my younger brother were killed by the Lowardians, my parents while trying to protect the children of Yamounichi. It is my honor to carry the family name, Miss Celia, even when you insult my ancestors by referring to them as less than worthy."

"Easy, Cathryn," Ron smiled. "I'm certain she didn't mean it."

"That is easy for you to say, Stoppable-san, after you defeated Warhok and Warmonga single-handedly," Cathryn stated, and Celia and several others gasped. "No one would dare call you a 'leftover.'"

"That would have been nothing compared to what Kim would have done to me if I had lost Ron on the table," C. P. laughed. "I'm thinking 'all 16 kinds,' right, Kim?" he laughed.

Kim laughed, squeezed Ron's hand, and smiled at C. P. "You're right, but you would have enjoyed the pain," she said in a voice that made C. P. very happy that he was older and that Kim was engaged to Ron.

"Besides, C. P, who would have taken out those pods at the Bunker?" Sarah laughed as she started to return to her normal self.

"Hey, little missy, I didn't take out as many as you did, personally: 15, wasn't it?" C. P. laughed back, glad to see that Sarah had put her hand down.

"Only 11, I'm afraid," Sarah smiled, and Evan gasped and grinned at the same time. This looked like another woman he just _had_ to meet.

"Cousin Kim, why didn't we get our invitations to the party?" a laugh came from outside the door, behind Kim, Ron, and Dr. Director, and the crowd parted to reveal-

"WADE!

"JOSS!"

Sarah took off and ran for both of them and Celia tried to decipher this picture: the young African-American man was dressed in a sharp grey pinstripe business suit, and the young woman holding his hand was dressed…well, strange. The cognac-colored tall boots didn't logically go with the outfit, but it worked better than anything Celia had seen in Paris, and the look vexed her so.

"Hey there, Sarah: I was in the neighborhood, moving my last two boxes into the office, and Joss and I decided to stop by. It looks like we missed all the fun," Wade laughed.

'Office?' Celia thought.

"And, congratulations, once again, Wade," C. P. stuck his hand out and took Wade's.

Wade looked at Celia and smiled, stepping over with Joss to her. "I don't believe we've met, but we will formally in a few days, anyway. I'm Wade Load, and I'll be teaching the required Intro Computer Science courses. This is my girlfriend and, in a few years, my fiancée, Miss Joss Possible.

"And you are…?" Joss asked, extending her hand.

"Joss, this is my daughter, Miss Celia Dane-Parsons," C. P. announced with pride.

"You must be very proud of your father," Joss smiled.

"Almost as proud of him as he is of you," Wade added with a smile.

"Office?" Celia had to ask.

"Dr. Load, of Team Possible," Betty began, and the whispers in the hall outside of the pod rose 20 decibels, "Is MIST's newest faculty member, Miss Dane-Parsons."

Celia began to overload with everything she'd heard and seen, and she reacted in her normal manner.

"I don't have to stand here and take this," she commented to no one in particular.

"Well, then, sit down and take it," Sarah replied dryly, and Even couldn't help but laugh.

That pushed Celia's final button, and she stormed toward the door.

"'I will always love you,' Sarah," C. P. called out, and Celia stopped momentarily before leaving the room and parting the crowd as she went to her room. A door slammed, and the crowd outside the rooms cheered.

Sarah looked at C. P., and she saw the tears forming around the hurt in his eyes. She reached out, took his hand, and squeezed it gently; he looked surprised when he turned his face to her.

"I'm sorry, Sarah," he started, but she waved him silent.

"No apology necessary, Dr. Adams," she grinned. "I'm just sorry you dropped the vase: I really did like its color," she added with a grin.

C. P. couldn't help but laugh. Ron reached down and picked the rose from the collection of glass and handed it to Kim. "You want to take care of this for Sarah, KP?" he asked, and she nodded.

"You can have a spare vase from my room, Sarah," Kim said, and Ron grinned.

"But, she can't have the cactus," Ron chided.

"_NO TOUCHEE _my CACTUS!" Kim laughed, and most of the people in the crowd, even not knowing the entire story, laughed with her. Kim then turned and looked at Cathryn, sadness filling Kim's face. "Cathryn, I'm so sorry for your loss. I didn't know…" her voice trailed away.

"You had nothing to do with it, Kim," Cathryn replied.

"The Lowardians wouldn't have come back if I hadn't ticked off Warmonga the first time, and the Tweebs' trick they played on her didn't help, either," Kim added, but Cathryn waved her away.

"Kim, it is, as I have heard you say before, 'No Big,'" Cathryn smiled, but Kim could see the shadow of hurt and loss in her eyes. "You and Ron are heroes, Kim."

"No, we're not," Kim spat out, and Cathryn looked surprised. Then, Kim calmed down and continued. "Ron and I just tried to survive when people were trying to kill us. The heroes, Cathryn, are those who were fighting and dying without knowing what was happening. Your parents, Cathryn, are heroes: they gave their lives for the children of Yamounichi, and they will always be remembered.

"You're a hero, Cathryn," Kim added with a smile at the shocked young woman. "You could have withdrawn from everyone and just died, but you chose to live.

"You're my hero, Cathryn," she added with a hug for the young woman. "Come over to my house: Mom makes a mad 'Brain Loaf,'" Kim laughed, and gagging was heard in the hall, "and I could loan you a Tweeb or two."

"I will accept your invitation, Km, but only to learn of this 'Brain Loaf'; perhaps, I could show your mother some of the dishes I was taught," Cathryn smiled, and Kim was happy to finally see a smile on her face.

"You're not talking sushi, are you, Cathryn?" Ron asked, worried, and Cathryn laughed.

"Do not worry, Ron: I do not have the skills of Master Lunch Lady, so you will get food," she chuckled.

"Well, Sarah, at least your vase of roses and juice survived," C. P. laughed, pulling the cart from the wall where it had been pushed against.

Joss just grinned evilly, and Wade groaned loudly. "My juice piggy," he moaned, much to the enjoyment of Ron and Kim.

"Thank you, C. P., but I have a question," Sarah smiled, taking the vase of flowers from him and placing them on her desk. "Was that line you used from a song?"

C. P. looked surprised. "Why, yes it was, Sarah, but I'm surprised you'd know about it. I wrote it for Sar- Celia when she was younger, coming off a bad bout of flu."

"I'd love to hear it," Sarah admitted, more curious than anything else. 'It reminded me of something I remember from when I was younger,' she thought.

"Well, you're in luck," C. P. grinned. "If I could have some volunteers help me bring your graduation present in, you just might get lucky," he laughed.

Five young men quickly volunteered, all curious about this older black man, the pretty young Anglo woman in their dorm, and their relationship. C. P. went with them out to his vehicle. They quickly returned with large boxes that quickly turned into-

"How did you know what I wanted?" Sarah squealed when she saw the outside of the largest box: a San Thomas Carlos professional-grade electronic piano keyboard, the best in the market.

"A lucky guess, and April," C. P. grinned as the group made quick work of the assembly and removed the boxes, leaving Sarah with a keyboard wired to her MOS for connection to her speakers.

"Well, let's hear it," Sarah grinned, running her fingers up and down the keyboard, a glissando sounding like a baby grand coming from the speakers.

C. P. smiled and stepped up next to her at the keyboard, and Sarah stepped to the side as C. P. pulled up a chair and sat, running his fingers up and down arpeggios on the keyboard like a piano master.

Then, he stopped, closed his eyes, and placed his right thumb down to play Middle C, his right little finger to the G above it, and then his right middle finger on the E between them. In perfect ¾ time, as if a slow waltz, he moved his thumb to the B below Middle C, his right little finger and middle finger repeating their notes. His thumb moved to the A below, his right little finger and middle finger repeating their notes, and repeated the same pattern going down the scale to the G, then the F, then the E, and then the D, followed by the E above Middle C, Middle C, and the D between them. He held that note for a three count, then repeated the entire pattern down to the low D, where it changed to move to the G above Middle C, the G below it, and ending on Middle C.

As C. P. began to play, Ron took Kim's hand, and Wade smiled as he took Joss' hand.

The entire time, Sarah watched in silent admiration as she watched his face relax to a calm she had never seen on his face before, and his normally semi-gravel-filled voice was amazingly a sweet baritone:

"**Go to sleep, Sa-rah,  
I will be here, watch-ing.  
Go to sleep, always know  
that your dreams can come true.**

"**Go to sleep, Sa-rah,  
I will be here, watch-ing.  
Go to sleep, pleasant dreams  
I will always love you."  
**

When he started to sing the first verse, Sarah knew three things immediately:

One, that C. P. would never hurt his family: he loved both his daughter and his ex-wife, and that knowledge would shock them; and

Two, that C. P. somehow had read her biological father's mind, or vice-versa, for the same song she was now hearing from his lips had come from Big Daddy Brotherson's lips to her, years ago.

Three: somehow, both of these men had gotten inside her adopted father's head. She remembered the first night in their new house, and the massive thunderstorm that had driven her, screaming, from her room. Her dad had walked her back to her room and put her back into bed, and then he sat on the bed and sung to her until she had fallen asleep.

She stepped up to the keyboard, next to C. P. and shocked him when she began to play an accompanying counterpoint and sing the next verse with him, the same words coming from both their mouths:

"**Sleep well, and dream of love,  
I'll be here beside you.  
All your days, and all the nights  
so your fears won't come through.**

"**Go to sleep, Sa-rah,  
I'll be here to guard you.  
Go to sleep, and always dream,  
for your dreams can come true," **

C. P. stared at Sarah as she smiled and sang, and he wondered how she knew this private part of his life….

Then, she smiled and sang in an alto harmony with his baritone on the final verse:

"**Go to sleep, Sa-rah,  
I will always watch o'er you.  
Go to sleep, and always know  
I will always love you."**

Kim watched the pair in amazement, but not because of their singing:

Because of the effect it seemed to be having on Ron.

She looked at Ron: his eyes were closed, and he was smiling and swaying with the music.

C. P. started the opening pattern once again, and Sarah started a lovely counterpoint above his simple rhythm pattern, the pair smiling at each other like a pair of professional performers.

Then, Kim was surprised when Ron pulled his hand from hers and walked to the front of the keyboard. When C. P. and Sarah started the final verse, once again, both were shocked when Ron joined in with them in a perfect third-part harmony that neither had heard before:

"**Go to sleep, little one,  
I will always watch o'er you.  
Go to sleep, and always know  
I will always love you."**

Ron reached his hands across the keyboard, one each for Sarah and C. P. They each took his hands and they then took each others', smiling at the unknown secret that they all shared.

"Dr. Adams," Dr. Director-Possible grinned, "you've got some 'splainin' to do," she laughed, and the group outside laughed and applauded, heading back to their own rooms.

"Ronald, where did you hear the song?" C. P. asked.

"My dad taught it to me: he was singing it to Hana one night, and I liked it," Ron replied. "Hana likes it, too, so I would sing it to her whenever she wanted to her it."

"Both of my dads sang the song to me, and I never realized that it was the same song until now," Sarah looked puzzled.

"Ron, what's your father's name?" C. P. asked, and he

"Gene Stoppable, Dr. Adams: why?"

Both Dr. Director-Possible and C. P. grinned and said, at the same time: "Why does that not surprise me?"

--

**Author's afterward:**

And, some, like C. P., make it out of the room alive.

The segment of C. P.'s playing the piano is my attempt to communicate the actual musical notes through words. I have not tried this before, and I hope that the feel comes across successfully.

--

Next, on _**Birth, and ReBirth 2: **_**College time Blues: ****Chapter 3: Revelations 2: classes start**

--

Thank you, to all of you, for supporting all of us on this new journey.

Special thank, especially, to my wonderful betas Star-Eva01, ja, and kt, without whom this would not be the story it is. Any errors in this copy are mine. Who knew that I could have betas from opposite ends of the age spectrum that agree on so many things, both that are good and that needed to be 'kicked up a notch'?

Thanks again for reading, and please review.

--


	4. C4: Revelations 2: classes start

_**Birth, and ReBirth 02**_**: College Time Blues.**

Disclaimer/Author's Notes: Kim Possible and all the characters of the show are owned by the Disney Company. Original lyrics to the songs referenced in this story and the music are the property of the respective authors, artists and labels. All other characters can be blamed on the author (he, however, is not responsible for all of their actions at all times, being barely responsible for himself most of the time).

This is a strictly not-for-profit, just-for-fun work.

Enjoy! Please read and review.

--

**A/N Forward: **

High School is over for our heroes Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable, and it wasn't the end of the world.

It _**was**_ the end of high school, however, and the beginning of a totally new adventure for them and all of their friends and families...and foes.

It's a Birth of new emotions, friendships, and ways of life, and a ReBirth of old emotions, friendships, and ways of life; but, after all, isn't that what college is all about?

The beginning of college at MIST actually started as high school ended; the summer prior to the fall semester is always a cornucopia of exciting events for both the institution as well as the students. For MIST, it's even more so this year, with Middleton having been in the center of the Lowardian invasion events.

Some things will remain the same, and some will change, drastically….

It's time for everyone leaving high school, and others, to have the _**College Time Blues**_….

--

**Chapter 4: Revelations 2: classes start**

--

Kim opened her eyes from her nap to the soft chirping of birds outside her window, and she smiled…

And, she remembered where she was: she was in her room in college, not her room at home, and today was the first day of classes… this one was different, though. She was going to one of her professor's home for dinner tonight, and it would be the first chance she would have to meet many of the students in one of her new classes.

She was going without Ron, though: he was not in this class. That didn't matter, she realized and smiled: Ron was here, with her, they were in college, the Lowardians were gone, and all was right with the world.

She looked over at her desk and grimaced: the leaning tower of books and CDs was not a dream. She was so happy that she was on full scholarship when she walked into the campus bookstore with her BFFBF…

--

"Ron, you know where the bookstore is, already?" Kim was pleasantly surprised when he gave her directions over the phone.

"Of course, KP: I picked up my books on Tuesday," he replied, sounding shocked that she would even ask him the question. "The Ron-man has turned over a new leaf, now that he has a badical BFFGF by his side who can stomp big and bigger green women," he chuckled. "I picked up my schedule early, confirmed the required books, and even ordered some on-line if the prices were cheaper.

"I'll come with, KP: just let me know when you're ready to brave the mob," he added, and she gave him date and time to meet her at the store.

""Potential Boy, indeed," Kim grinned after she hung up the phone.

She had a much higher opinion of Ron when they stepped into the bookstore.

"Ron, you got your books already?" she whispered, a bit in shock at the mass of students: some with parents, but all with baskets in hand or tow, maneuvering through the aisles like soccer players on a muddy field.

"Bought and paid for with multiple pounds of flesh, KP," Ron grimaced, and he leaned over to her ear and whispered "it wasn't easy, Kim, even with the scholarship paying them. Talk about sticker-shock." Kim watched his grimace turn into a slight shake that seemed to start at his head and move all the way down to his sneaker-clad feet.

"Bleh!" Kim snorted: "How much can a few books be?"

Some students and their parents, heading out of the store, snickered.

"Rookie," said one girl, shaking her head and chuckling as walked by, her dark brown hair with a bright red streak running down the left side moving from side to side as she walked.

"So, KP, let's see your schedule: we can map out our plan of attack in the store," Ron pushed a shopping cart in her direction while taking one himself.

"Why will I need this?" she asked, catching the cart,and several students looked at her and laughed out loud.

"I love the smell of freshmen in the morning," one graduate student sang, and his companion whistled along with him.

"So, KP, what's on your sched?"

"The inquiry course for all freshmen, of course," she started.

"Which seminar did you get?"

"I asked for the one on world ecology, but I got the one on world politics and reconstruction," she replied. "I guess that they thought I might know a bit about the topic," she added with a grin.

"Don't be too sure, KP: these seminars are pretty tricky. Here are the books for yours," Ron pointed at an entire bookshelf, piled high with books and CDs. Kim picked up one of the books and almost dropped it in horror.

"Ron!" she whisper-shouted. "Did you look at the price on this book? It's US $93.75!"

"KP," Ron grinned, "you were going to pay US $100.00 for a pair of socks this spring, remember?

"Yeah, Ron, but those were Country Club Banana socks, and this is a book," she retorted.

"KP: bubble bursting time. That's a used book: see the yellow U sticker on the cover? They're priced based on condition, and the new ones are more," he added, holding up a new copy of her book, the price clearly displayed, and watched her face totally blanch.

"Wow, you looked just like that asparagus I prepared for us last night," Ron laughed.

Kim growled, and Ron stopped laughing.

"My leadership class is only 2 hours credit, so it shouldn't kill me, budget-wise. After all," Kim laughed, "just how many books on leadership can there be, anyway?"

"Uh, KP," Ron pointed at the half-a-case dedicated to her texts and syllabi for Leadership 1201, and Kim shook her head sadly and pulled the victims into her basket, next to her Inquiry 1036 items.

"What else is on the sched, KP?"

"My Calculus I class: I thought I'd be able to handle it after Barkin this past year," she grinned.

"Excuse me?" Kim heard a voice from behind her, and she turned to see a slender, blonde female student, holding a Complex Analysis text under her arm. "Which Calculus section do you have?"

"I'm not sure," Kim admitted, "but Doctor Smithson is the professor," she added, and the student grimaced.

"You got 'the Don,' your first go-round?" she whispered. "GF, your Karma is in the toilet if you got him: you made someone very, very angry to be punished by getting 'the Don' for a professor, round 1. My condolences, "she added as she turned away. "But," she turned back and grinned, "I'm his assistant this year, so maybe I can keep him from devouring you completely the first week: after that, you're on your own," she turned and, laughing, headed for the checkout line.

"Wow, KP," Ron grabbed her schedule from her hands, "You're gonna be busy. I don't see cheer on here, though." He raised an inquisitive eyebrow, and Kim laughed.

"You spent too much time with Ned, Ron," she said. "Cheering is non-credit, and I'm not sure if I'm going to go out for the squad or just help."

"You're not planning on coaching them like you did Jim and Tim's soccer team, are you?" Ron asked, and he was rewarded when she punched him in the arm.

"No, Ron, I just decided I was tired of the 'Bonnies' of the world and needed a fresh start.

"No challenge without Bon-Bon to needle you at every step, huh?" Ron grinned.

"Let's get the rest of my books," she said, pushing him and cart in front of her down the Computer Science/Mathematics aisle as a small smile crossed her lips for a second.

She was shocked that Ron was right: they needed both carts for all of her books, class materials, and syllabi. She heard chuckles when she rolled up to the checkout.

"First semester, huh?" the female cashier at the counter asked when Kim began to empty her cart contents onto the counter.

"Uh, huh," she replied as the cashier began to scan the items.

When both carts had been scanned and re-packaged into boxes in the carts, "will there be anything else?" the cashier asked.

"I hope not," Kim replied, shuddering inside to hear the final damage total. "I just hope it isn't over US $1,200.00," Kim added.

"You didn't even come close," the cashier laughed. "That'll be US $886.26, including state and local taxes," and Ron caught Kim as she stumbled backwards.

"Ei…ei…eight hundred eighty-six dollars," Kim stammered out, reaching into her purse for her student aid credit card.

"And 26 cents, ma'am," the cashier laughed as she took the card and scanned it deftly. The computer beeped and printed out the paper receipt, and the cashier deftly handed it to Kim. "Enjoy your first semester," she grinned as the now-stunned Kim began to push the first of the two carts out, followed by a grinning Ron with the other.

"You see, KP: that wasn't so bad," Ron said as he helped her put the boxes into the Sloth.

"Ron" Kim was not amused, "that was almost Nine Hundred dollars!"

"You got a good deal, KP, especially for new books at the store," he replied, closing the rear door.

"But, Ron," she said as she closed her door and started the car, "what about all the other students? Why should I get aid when lots of them don't?"

"First, KP," Ron took a deep sigh before continuing as she pulled out of the parking lot, "you kinda deserve it. Remember, your grades were not "Gentlewoman C's," he grinned as she turned toward the pod complexes. "Second, your folks may be a rocket scientist and a brain surgeon, but no one was prepared for the Lowardians: insurance companies took one look at the sitch and used everything they could think of to reduce their payouts to policyholders: as a result, lots of people had to dive into their savings to rebuild.

"Third, I'm surprised at you," Ron laughed. "Over 85 per cent of the students at MIST are on some form of financial aid, according to the web site. You didn't do your homework," he chided, and Kim groaned inside

"Then, of course, there was that minor thing that you and I did in the category of saving the world, literally: some folks thought that it was worth a few dollars to assist us and those who fought, and even the families of those who fought and died," he turned his head toward her, and Kim was surprised to see his face wet.

"Those poor families: KP, we were the lucky ones. We just lost a few things, but those can be replaced. Heck," he grinned through the tears, "even Pandaroo made it through the invasion, and look at how good he looks, now."

"I just feel funny about it, Ron: taking money, I mean," she pulled up at the Pod and parked in her assigned spot.

"'And, for more on how Kim feels about taking money, please replay the comments from the last few years of missions, or go to www dot Icandoanything dot com,'" Ron dead-panned, but stopped when he heard Kim growl, once again.

"We never took anything for missions, KP: heck, we did all of that for rides. We saved the world from Drakken more than once and not for a dime. What's wrong with people appreciating what you did, especially when it was for your hard work in school, not for risking your life?" Ron asked, grabbing one of the hand trucks standing outside the pod for move assistance.

"Something to think about, KP, considering that there are people like Celia who…" Ron's voice trailed off, and Kim grabbed a box of books and headed inside.

--

"Dad, which Inquiry class are you leading?"

"I'm leading one with Dr. Smith on next political steps, Wade," Dr. Ryan Load grinned. He knew his son's assignment, but Wade didn't know….yet.

"I wonder what I have," Wade mused, and his PosComm rang.

"Dr. Load…yes… World Politics and Reconstruction? All right…with whom? Dr. Jamison Stephens Snodgrass?" Wade asked, and Ryan Load chuckled. "Where, and when…? I'll be here, then…thank you," and he clicked off.

"I heard the chuckle…what's the sitch?"

"I am," the baritone voice responded, and Wade turned and looked up…and up…and up…and laughed.

"Philosophy?" Wade asked with a grin.

"Guilty as charged, Dr. Load," he replied, stepping into the room. "Welcome to the faculty: I've enjoyed watching your career grow with Team Possible, Dr. Load, and I look forward to working with the students in this different environment…and, with you, after my experiences with your father," he extended his hand, and Wade stood and shook it, grinning even more.

"If this isn't Mutt and Jeff," he grinned, and Dr. Snodgrass laughed. "It's going to have to be Wade, Dr. Snodgrass, or Dad and I will never keep the conversations straight."

"Then, it's Jamison, or Dr. J," Dr. Snodgrass grinned.

"Somehow, that fits," Wade smiled. The Chair of the Philosophy department was a large, African-American man, almost seven feet tall, and Wade realized that the thing that captured his attention was his perfectly-shaved head…that, and hands: a single one of Jamison's hands was bigger than both of Wade's, put together. Wade looked down, and Jamison laughed as Wade's jaw dropped.

"Size 14 EEE," he replied with a laugh, "and, yes, I can palm a basketball, but that's about it." He then reached into his backpack and pulled out an envelope. "Dr. Load…Wade, I wanted to talk to you about the class roster…I want to make certain you don't have any problems with one of our students," he pulled the roster out of the envelope and handed it to Wade.

"Why would I have a problem with a stu-" and Wade then read the name that was highlighted in yellow. "…Oh, this is priceless," Wade laughed, hard. Jamison looked perplexed.

"You do know I'm replacing Dr. Smith in his Intro Computer Science classes, correct?" Wade asked. Jamison nodded, and then the realization came to his face with a huge grin.

"Can you deal with her twice in your classes?"

"I have no problem…I want to see her face when she finds out. She doesn't know about me in CS: does she know about me in Inquiry?"

"Neither of us," Jamison laughed.

"This should be a surprise," Wade smiled.

"Or, she could turn all 16 kinds loose on you, Dr. Load," Jamison laughed, and all three Doctors grabbed for chairs to fall into before they fell down, laughing

"Let me tell you from workout experience, Dr. J," Wade grimaced, and Ryan barely held back his laughter. "If Kim ever turns all 16 loose on you:

"1. you will hurt…a lot," he started, and Ryan snickered;

"2. you will feel pain in places that you never imagined that you could feel pain," Wade said, rubbing his right elbow, and Ryan chortled;

"3. you will want to cry for your mama after the first 10 minutes," Wade smiled, and Ryan burst out laughing; "and

"4. If she offers to kiss it and make it better, consider that she will hurt it after she does, and weigh the options for the kiss," he grinned, and Dr. Snodgrass joined them all in laughing.

--

Bonnie sat in her pod, smiling for the first time in what seemed to be…forever. But, she couldn't stop her mind from drifting back to the beginning, that terrible, awful bad day….

After moving out of the house, her car filled with her belongings that she wanted (including all three of her Cuddle Buddies she'd received from Needles), she's moved into an apartment, unloaded her things from the car, and gone back out to pick up a burger from Cow' N' Chow. She wolfed it down on the way home, drinking the diet cola in three slurps through the straw, and gone back into her apartment.

She spent the next three days, crying.

No visitors, no family, no one…but her Cuddle Buddies. They didn't care that she was in a tiny apartment: they loved her anyway.

Her mail was forwarded to her, amazingly enough: she guessed that the Post Office finally caught up with her after she sent the change-of-address two weeks after she'd moved in.

The knock on her door one night surprised her. She got up from the well-worn couch, padded to the door, and opened it.

Tara stood there, her face streaked with tears.

"Bonnie, where the heck have you been, and why didn't you tell me?" she started, but that was a far as she got as both young women broke down and hugged each other, tears falling like spring rain in New England: cold, steady, and relentless.

After they cried for 30 minutes, Bonnie got her to sit down and told her what had happened.

"Bonnie, you could have come to us," Tara told her. "Mom and Dad would have taken you in, no questions asked."

"Thank you, Tara, but I needed to be someplace where my family wouldn't look for me after they found out what I did with my joint bank accounts," Bonnie grinned.

"What about college?" Tara asked.

"Daddy pre-paid for everything. I checked and double-checked that the funds were non-refundable, so he can't pull them back," Bonnie grinned. "I closed the joint college-fund account and transferred it to one in my name only. I suspect that he had a full-blown Holstein when he started getting the account statements and notices of closure," she added. "Things will be a bit tight, but I'm not the same 'Queen B' I was in most of high school, so I won't be worried about the food chain so much," she closed, and Tara stood up, pulled her to her feet, and kissed her.

"I'm so very proud of you, Bonnie, my friend," she said, finally. "You've grown."

Tara left shortly after that, but Bonnie had surprises waiting for her the rest of the summer: dinner would suddenly appear at her door, with no warning, a fully-cooked and hot meal, usually with a bottle of Sparkling Red or White Grape Juice.

On her birthday, she sat at the dinette, staring at a single cupcake, trying to simultaneously find a match for the lone candle and not to fall apart. 'This is not how I planned to spend my 19th,' she kept saying in her mind, until a knock came at her door.

She dried her face as she made her way, barefooted, to the door and almost fell over in shock when she opened it:

Kim, Ron, Wade, Joss, Tara, Josh, Sarah, and Chip were all standing there, all holding balloons, and they started to sing "Happy Birthday."

When they finished, and Bonnie stopped crying tears of joy and laughter ('that was the worst singing I'd ever heard: they had to have done that on purpose, 'cause I know they can sing better than that,' she thought), they pulled her out of her room, to a car, and drove her to Sato's. Sato greeted her with a huge hug and a large drink that was definitely borderline legal, and they all stuffed themselves on fried chicken and catfish and all the fixings. Of course, the mandatory PFP dessert was present.

Bonnie considered offering to do things for Sato that would have curled what was left of his hair, but she managed to stop when he brought her a massive take-home gift of PFP and Triple-Bean Vanilla Ice Cream.

"Thank you," she finally was able to get out when she stood, her tears of joy still falling. "I expected no one to remember my birthday, and I would have deserved it, after the way I'd treated all of you in the past. But, you all thought of me," she stopped to wipe away her tears once again. "Thank you, again: I love you, all of you," she managed to get out before she sat back down, and Ron placed his arm around her shoulder and let her cry onto his shirt while the table applauded.

"You're never along, BonBon," Ron grinned, and he winced when she punched him in the ribs. She then looked up, smiling, and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks, loser," she grinned and winked at both Ron and Kim.

Now, she was pulling up to her Inquiry professor's home in northern Middleton, and she smiled. She was moving forward.

She rang the doorbell, and Connie opened the door.

"Well, well, well, look what the dogs drug in," Connie snarked, and Bonnie pushed her to the side and walked into the house, heading straight for the professor.

"Dr. Carrigan?" she asked, and the grey-haired woman turned and faced her.

"Yes, Miss Rockwaller?"

"I need to transfer out of your class: I really wanted to take this one when I saw the subject, but not if Connie's here," Bonnie explained, and Dr. Carrigan smiled.

"Not to worry Bonnie: Connie is only here because she drove some students over. She won't be staying, and she isn't going to be involved in this class," she explained to Bonnie as she led her away from the gathering students and to a secluded corner of the room. "She had requested to be my assistant, and I asked why. She told me what she wanted to do to you, and I categorically turned her down and reported her to the Program Dean,' Dr. Carrigan grinned. "She wasn't even smart enough to plot and keep her stupid yap shut," she giggled, and Bonnie couldn't help but smile.

"Besides, Bonnie Jean," she smiled, "I know what's important, too," she added, and she gave Bonnie a wink before she went back to the other arriving students, leaving Bonnie totally in shock.

This was certainly _not_ High School….

--

"Are you going to Dr. Snodgrass' house?" Kim heard a voice, and she turned and smiled.

"I am…do you need a ride?" she asked, and the young woman nodded.

"Please, and thank you, Kim," Angela laughed, and she and Kim headed down the elevator and to the lobby.

The elevator door opened, and the lobby was mobbed with milling students, some looking for rides and some offering.

"D. J.! Kain!" Angela called, and two young men turned and waved, then headed over to them.

"Where did you meet them?"

"Breakfast, a couple of days ago, Kim: Danny's a riot, and Kain is quiet, but he's smart," she replied.

As the young men got closer, they grinned.

"I hoped I'd meet you before classes started, Miss Possible," Kain spoke first, offering his slightly tanned hand. "Kain Ziegler, at your service, from Riyadh City, of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," he took her hand and squeezed.

"And, I'm Danny James Mallewsky, or DeeJay, Kim," DJ grinned and shook her hand, his British island accent coming through. "It's an honor," he added, clicking his heels. Kim laughed: he was wearing sneakers, so the effect wasn't quite there.

"No-" Kim almost said 'No big,' but she stopped. "The pleasure is all mine, gentlemen," she smiled. "Need a lift?"

"From a beautiful woman, always," DJ replied, and Angela punched him in the side.

"Sorry, DJ: taken," Kim grinned, flashing her engagement ring, generating a squeal of delight from Angela.

"Ron?" she asked, and Kim nodded. "Dang, you're so lucky: he's a hunk," she added, and Kim couldn't help but chuckle inside as they made their way outside to Kim's car.

"Wow, you have a Sloth?" Kain asked, and Kim nodded.

"The Tweebs restored it, and they added a few features," she punched her remote, and the doors unlocked and opened.

"My uncle has one back home: I thought they were all destroyed or shipped out of the United States," Kain said, then grinned, "after the recall, of course," he added, and Kim groaned.

"My dad hung onto his," she explained, starting the car after everyone belted and the doors closed.

"Kim, do you need Dr. Snodgrass' address?" Angela asked.

"Nope: Wade added it to the GPS in the Kimmunicator in the car," she replied, backing out of the parking space.

"Kimmunicator?" Kain asked, and Kim smiled.

"My way of keeping in touch with Wade…I'm sorry, Wade Load, my 'Q' for Team Possible," she explained when she saw the blank looks on their faces. "He makes all my gadgets."

Angela, in the front seat, nodded her understanding.

"He builds everything? Wow, he must be smart," Kain said.

"He is, indeed, and he's my best male friend, after Ron," she explained.

"Isn't that a problem for you: Wade being older, and all," DJ asked.

"It might be, if he were older," Kim laughed. "He's almost 15, and he has two PhDs," she added.

"Wow," Angela said. "Does he need a girlfriend?"

"Sorry, Angela, my cousin lassoed him, years ago. They'll get married when she graduates from college."

"Dang: all the good ones are taken," Angela sighed.

"HEY" came from the back seat and the ladies in the front both laughed.

"What are 'Tweebs'?" DJ asked, and Kim groaned inside.

That was going to take a lot of explaining.

--

"I love you, too, Olivia," she closed her cell and smiled.

It had happened: Monique Sasha Jenkins had been the one to leave Middleton.

She looked out of the dorm window and saw the ivy-covered walls, and the thoughts sought to overwhelm her, once again.

She thought that Sato was going to cry when she told him that she was going 'back East' for college. He hugged her and made her promise to come back and visit him when she was in town, and he'd bought her family's dinner that night "as my way of congratulating a wonderful young woman and thanking her parents," he had told her father when he asked for the check.

The Lowardians had changed her, made her even more confident in some ways, "As if you needed any more confidence, GF," Kim had snarked when she told her how she felt.

Kim hadn't seen her, waking up in a cold sweat, night after night, after only an hour's sleep, from the nightmares:

Kim speared by a pod and Ron's mangled body being held up by another one like it was a trophy

Olivia's parents holding each other as the flames engulfed them from behind

Olivia, herself, chasing the pod that had set fire to her house and killed her parents with a broom, just before the pod turned and unleashed the flames of hell on her.

That was Monique's worst nightmare, and she woke up, screaming.

'Please, help me, Lord," she prayed when she finally calmed down.

That was then the phone rang.

"Hello?" Monique answered it, not recognizing the area code or the number.

"Hello, my young warrior," Esther Andrea Possible's wonderful voice came across the phone. "What's wrong?"

"Esther! Do you know what time it is?"

"Of course, Mon: what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she lied.

"Snake muffins," Esther spat out, and Monique couldn't help but laugh. "Tell me what's bothering you," she commanded, and Monique told her about the nightmares.

Ester proceeded to tell Monique that she wasn't surprised, because she knew from experience. She'd seen enough combat, and she said that those people who were new to the most graphic, violent, and frightening events were almost 100 per cent guaranteed to have nightmares, the severity of them directly proportional to the threat level.

After she explained all of this, she shocked Monique:

"The nightmare is over: we won," she said, and she hung up the phone.

Monique sat there, stunned, but then she yawned a big yawn, and she fell asleep within five-10 minutes, sleeping the best she'd done since before….

But, it was him that finally did it, pushed her final button:

Him.

Felix Josiah Renton: her fiancée, her husband-to-be, she smiled, fingering her ring once again.

Felix came over, she later found out, to talk to her father. They talked for over two hours, and Felix then left.

Four days passed, and he called Monique and asked if he could take her to dinner that night. She agreed, and he told her he's pick her up at 6:45 PM.

He came by her house in time, and they drove to Lowerton, to Sato's.

They had a wonderful dinner, and they talked about Felix's plans, his Mom, Rebecca, and her work at the Space Center. Sato cleared the table and brought out two bowls of PFP. "This one is for you, Miss Jenkins: compliments of your young man," he grinned.

Monique put her spoon in and pulled out a piece of yellow ribbon. She looked perplexed, and she tugged on the ribbon. It kept coming, and coming…and, at the end, was a plastic-encases ruby-and-diamond engagement ring.

She looked up in shock, and Felix held another piece of ribbon in his hand. He then removed the plastic and wiped the ring, removed the ribbon, moved next to Monique, and pulled her from her chair into his lap, where he then proposed.

Then, he told her that he was tying the two yellow ribbons around a tree in his front yard, and that the ribbons were staying there until they married. 'What was I to do, except say yes,' she giggled inside, watching the birds float from tree to tree.

"Yale," she said, almost reverently.

A knock and the door opened to a young woman, pulling a suitcase, followed by her father and mother.

"Monique Jenkins?" the young woman asked, and Monique turned to face the speaker.

She was a pale young woman, of average height, average weight for her height, and dressed plain and simply.

"That's me," Monique replied. "Juliet Peeples?" she asked, and the young woman smiled and nodded.

"That's me," she smiled, and Monique realized that she could be pretty when she smiled. "Are you glad to be here?"

"Like, d'uh," Monique responded, and the father laughed.

"You young people," he grinned, and his wife punched at him.

"I was re-assigned to this room after one of the people who I was going to room with withdrew suddenly, and I certainly couldn't afford a single," Juliet pulled her suitcase over the unmade bed and plopped onto it.

"I'm glad you came: the same thing happened to me," Monique admitted.

"Cool: already we have something in common," Juliet laughed. "I've got to get unpacked and go out and look for a part-time job: the Aid Office gave me some leads," she added.

"GF, you want to make some good Claude and get some bennies from it?" Monique asked, and Juliet looked totally confused.

Monique chucked to herself: 'GF, you ain't in High School, anymore.' "Do you want to make some money and get some good benefits, to boot?"

"Yeah! Where?"

"After you unpack, I'll take you to the Mall down the street and get you into Club Banana," Monique said.

"Club Banana?" Juliet looked shocked. "They wouldn't hire someone like me in a million years," she said sadly.

"They would if you come with me," Monique grinned."

"Why?" Juliet asked.

"Because Mr. Banana owes me a favor," Monique replied, and Juliet's mouth dropped wide open.

"Monique, excuse me," her mother spoke now, a soft Southern voice, "but you don't sound French. Where do you know Mr. Banana from?"

"I met him at the store I worked in, back home," Monique smiled.

"Where is home?" Her father asked.

"Middleton, Colorado," Monique replied, and both the father and mother gasped.

"That's why your name sounded familiar," they both said at the same time.

"JINX: you owe me a Big Red," Juliet laughed, her parents groaned, and then she turned and stared at Monique.

"Did you…really…?" she asked, asking but not asking what she wanted to ask.

Monique simply nodded.

"Wow," was the only reply from Juliet, and the room was quiet.

--

'Danny is, indeed, a riot,' Kim thought, 'and Kain's quiet, almost introspective,' she thought as she pulled up in front of Dr. Stephens Snodgrass' house, stopping the engine.

"Not what I expected," Kain commented, and Kim had to agree to an extent. The house seemed small, 'but, then again, maybe he doesn't have rocket fuel stored inside, either,' she grinned. They got out and headed up the sidewalk in the quiet, tree-lined neighborhood in East Middleton, and Kim ran the doorbell.

A young woman opened the door: "Here for Dad's cookout and student roasting?" she asked with a laugh and opened the door. "Come on in: he went to pick up some last minute things and one more person, so you're not late…but, then again, who is ever, really, late?" she asked.

"Spoken like the daughter of a philosophy professor," DJ laughed.

Kim snagged a diet cola and began to talk to some of the other students. She had just sat down on the couch and was talking to a tall, slender young man named Telmund Holtzmann, from Iraq, when the front door opened, and she thought she heard a familiar voice say something about carrying in ice.

She looked up and Wade walked into the room, wearing khakis and a red _**Blaze**_**IT!** Meezod shirt, a bag of ice underneath each arm, and a smile on his face that turned into a huge grin when he saw Kim. "Good afternoon, Miss Possible," he chuckled and headed into the kitchen with the ice.

"Who was that: Dr. Snodgrass' son?" Telmund asked.

"No," Kim laughed. "That was Dr. Wade Load," she added.

"Oh, wow: you know Dr. Load?" Telmund asked, and Kim laughed.

"You could say that," Kim snarked. Then, her mouth fell open as she looked up at the giant entering the room, carrying a keg on one shoulder as casually as one would carry a newspaper. His head was shaved, and he was dressed in khaki pants, boat shoes, and a MeeZod shirt with MIST on the breast. His arms were massive, and he made Big Mike look like the 'before' picture in the workout ads. She suddenly thought she felt her face flush, but a glance in the mirror across the way revealed no redness that she could see…

And, Kim thought that he was the most gorgeous man she's ever seen….

--

**Author's afterward:**

Kim has Wade as a professor… and, she hasn't even started college yet and is already crushing on a professor…this could be a cornucopia of disturbing events….

--

Next, on _**Birth, and ReBirth 2: **_**College time Blues: Chapter 5: Revelations 3: classes start II**

--

Thank you, to all of you, for supporting all of us on this new journey.

Special thank, especially, to my wonderful betas Star-Eva01, ja, and kt, without whom this would not be the story it is. Any errors in this copy are mine. Who knew that I could have betas from opposite ends of the age spectrum that agree on so many things, both that are good and that needed to be 'kicked up a notch'?

Thanks again for reading, and please review.

--


	5. C5: Revelations 3: classes start 2

_**Birth, and ReBirth 02**_**: College Time Blues.**

Disclaimer/Author's Notes: Kim Possible and all the characters of the show are owned by the Disney Company. Original lyrics to the songs referenced in this story and the music are the property of the respective authors, artists and labels. All other characters can be blamed on the author (he, however, is not responsible for all of their actions at all times, being barely responsible for himself most of the time).

This is a strictly not-for-profit, just-for-fun work.

Enjoy! Please read and review.

--

**A/N Forward: **

High School is over for our heroes Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable, and it wasn't the end of the world.

It _**was**_ the end of high school, however, and the beginning of a totally new adventure for them and all of their friends and families...and foes.

It's a Birth of new emotions, friendships, and ways of life, and a ReBirth of old emotions, friendships, and ways of life; but, after all, isn't that what college is all about?

The beginning of college at MIST actually started as high school ended; the summer prior to the fall semester is always a cornucopia of exciting events for both the institution as well as the students. For MIST, it's even more so this year, with Middleton having been in the center of the Lowardian invasion events.

Some things will remain the same, and some will change, drastically….

It's time for everyone leaving high school, and others, to have the _**College Time Blues**_….

--

**Chapter 5: Revelations 3: classes start 2**

--

"Welcome to MIST," he announced from across the living room, "and Inquiry 1101J, World Politics and Reconstruction. My name is Dr. Jamison Stephens Snodgrass, and my co-professor in this class is someone special: our newest member of the MIST faculty, Dr. Wade Agamemnon Load," Jamison nodded toward Wade, and he smiled at the applause.

"Excuse me?" the tall, slender young man spoke, and Jamison nodded. "My name is Telmund Holtzmann, from Iraq. Dr. Load, you are famous in my country for your software algorithms, but I was wondering about two things," he grinned.

"Yes?" Wade replied.

"Sir, just how old are you?" he asked, and several voices murmured.

Wade laughed. "I'll be 15 in a few months, and my girlfriend will be 16 shortly after that," he replied, and several girls in the room chuckled. "What can I say: I like older women," Wade added, generating more chuckles from ladies in the room.

"The other question: can you introduce me formally to this beautiful young woman I'm sitting with?" he pointed to Kim, and several people in the room smiled. "She said her name was Kim, and she says she knows you, but I did not get her last name," he added, and the smiles turned to chuckles as Kim blushed.

"What?" he asked, looking down at the fly of his pants, "did I do something wrong?" and several laughed.

"Y'all don't know who she is, or that she's engaged to the most totally perfect hottie on the planet?" Kim turned to see a grinning brunette with a deep, golden, sun-created tan, laughing. "Kim, face it: Your BFF is H-O-T HOT," she stood and walked over to Kim, who by now was smiling and only a bit blushing at the girl's comments about her fiancé. "After all, what can be hotter than those looks, his personality, and the fact that he can save you _and_ the world, all before a dinner Naco?" she laughed before continuing. "Ah'm Annabelle Stephanie Cartwright, from West Eden, Texas, by the way: where 'men are men and sheep are afraid'," she grinned as the room burst into laughter.

"Hi, Annabelle, I'm-"

"'Kimberly Ann Possible,'" came the chorus from several people in the room.

"'Check my name,'" was added by a handful of others, and Kim blushed.

"I'm not that bad," Kim laughed, and Wade and Annabelle both smiled.

"Really, I'm not," she added, and several still continued to chuckle.

"I am sorry, but should that name mean something to me?" Telmund inquired, and the room became deathly quiet.

Annabelle would have sworn she could hear the tumbleweeds blowing across the road in the silence that Telmund had created.

--

Emerson Brooks Moore smiled, his bright white teeth totally outshining his almost black skin. "I mean, should I know him?" he said in his Chilean accent and pointed at Ron, who grinned back at him.

"Dude," Ronny Rowell, a pudgy Japanese student laughed. "He invented the Naco, or haven't you had 'the food of the gods' yet in your country?" he laughed, and Ron pushed Rufus back down into his pocket before he could comment.

"He had a slow year last year, so he had a lot of spare time" a young Amer-Asian woman said with more then a hint of laughter, "not much to do… just save the world...but not a lot else besides that." She walked over to stand in front of Ron and smiled as he stood up and bowed to her. "Stoppable-San is, indeed, a hero," Cathryn Cochran added quietly and returned the bow.

"Saved us from what?" Emerson asked, his native Spanish accent bleeding over into his English.

"The Lowardians," Cathryn replied, slightly amused. "They were in all the papers, and they took 'pod-casting' to a whole new level," she added with a grin, ignoring all the groans from other students in the class.

--

"It should, Telmund, if you were alive last May when the Lowardians came a'callin'" Annabelle smiled. "They left enough pods for everybody, or didn't you notice?"

"Pods? Lowardians?" Telmund repeated, with the confused look on his face showing quite clearly to everyone.

"Those 20-foot-tall monstrosities sent by the aliens: the destroyed anything and everything that they could. Surely you didn't miss that… did you?" Annabelle asked with a lopsided grin.

"The Iranian government said that those were sent by the Great Satan to cause suffering of the people of Islam, but I didn't believe it," he whispered. "We were _truly_ attacked from space?"

"Indeed, we were," Dr. Snodgrass stated. "And that's one of the reasons for this class this semester: together we will explore what happened to each and every one of us, so each of us can confront and defeat our demons before they take us over," he added, and Wade looked at him, surprised at his choice of words. Kim glanced at Wade, caught his eye, and winked. Wade smiled back at her and returned the wink.

Kim looked at Jamison and smiled.

Jamison recognized her look, and he shuddered inside. 'Not again, and not her,' he thought, realizing that her background made her the perfect candidate.

--

"Well," Dr. Zappa laughed at the exchange, "besides saving the world, Mr. Stoppable is a pretty fair cook in his own right. In fact, I asked him to prepare the meal for today, which is why you are the only group that didn't have to contribute funds or food for the meeting today," and the cheers made Dr. Zappa laugh.

"Since we won't really get around to introducing ourselves until later, I thought you should know who I am. My name is Tamara Zappa," and a couple of students looked up in surprise, "and, no, I'm not related to him," she added as Ron slipped out of the room just as the doorbell rang.

"That'll be Ron's help for today," Dr. Zappa explained as she called out, "come in."

Emerson and Ronnie both almost fell from their seats when the two young women entered the room.

"I'm in love," Ronnie called out, staring at the blond. She giggled in response to his statement.

"In my country, we have a saying," he announced as he stood and walked over to the other young woman, took her hand, and kissed it: "'Boys do make passes at girls who wear glasses,'" he stated emphatically, and the young woman blushed. "How does Ron find all of these beautiful young women, or does Middleton just grow lovely ladies by the gross?"

"Heel, Emerson," Ron laughed from the kitchen. "First, the young woman in the glasses is engaged to a man who could have you for a midnight snack. Besides, she will be one of your professors in the future, most likely: meet Dr. Justine Flanner," and Justine smiled and nodded to the applause and the blushing of Emerson.

"And, Ronnie, you do NOT want to mess with Tara Strong, if you know what's good for you: she'll run you over with her Gourd and then laugh when she backs up to get you again," and Tara dimpled while Ronnie gulped.

Tara smiled: she knew what affect she would have with her attire. The white silk blouse that she had chosen showed her off, and the black leather miniskirt went perfectly with her black seamed stockings and two-inch heels. She had managed to get Justine to play along, but not as much: Justine stuck with a silk white blouse, as well, but she had added a red scarf to the ensemble. Her skirt was black, but not leather, and went to her knees. She did match Tara in stockings and heels: both ladies wore 2-inch black patent leather Pradas.

Justine took out a disk from her folder, popped it into the changer, and started it. The music started softly, rhythmically, and a couple of people chuckled: they recognized the tune: Ravel's _Bolero _from movies that their parents watched.

--

Jefferson listened as several people tried to explain to Telmund just who Kim Possible was, but he was more concerned with her watching him. He had seen her looking at him when he came into the room, and he had seen her surreptitious glances at him during the opening. He wished he had asked Wade more about her, but he never would he have expected that she would be one of them. He decided that, for his own sanity (and safety, he grinned inside: 'after all, she could really _**hurt**_ me!' he thought), he would have stop this before it ever started by having 'the talk' with her after everyone had left tonight. He'd get his daughter to take any stragglers home so there would be no student witnesses should she have any unexpected, or undesirable, reactions….

--

Ron tossed his cleavers in the air just as the music was about to end. They spun, and he caught them as the music ended.

The room grew silence for a second. Then, a single pair of hands started to applaud and was quickly joined by the entire gathering of students and faculty.

"Wait!" he shouted, and they all gradually quieted down, looking at him expectantly.

"You haven't tasted anything… yet," he pointed at the pile of large paper bowls at the front of the serving line. "Nacos a'la _**Ronald**_ are now being served," he announced regally, and everyone moved toward the same destination: the beginning of the line.

"Ron, that was incredible," Tara said softly as she kissed his right cheek. "I've never seen a display like that, even at the Teppinyaki restaurants."

"My Ronald," Justine purred, nibbling on Ron's left ear. The combination must have been drawing an inordinate amount of blood to Ron's face from his other extremities as evidenced by the staggered steps he took after Justine finished her 'pre-meal snack'.

"Justine, that was pure evil," Tara grinned as she joined Justine and both watched Ron's first wobbly steps toward the serving line. Justine smiled at Tara's comment. "I never knew you had it in you," Tara continued as they moved to the serving stations to assemble dinner.

Ron carefully wiped off the cleavers and placed them in a case, closing it, and then locking it before he took his head position at the end of the line to properly inspect and complete the Nacos before anyone dined on his product.

--

"Miss Possible, may I speak with you, please?" Jamison tried to steel himself inside: he had no idea of how she would react to his statements.

"Sure, Dr. Snodgrass," she replied, grabbing her bottled water and following him into his study. She stopped in her tracks as she took in the sight before her: a classic, old-style Victorian Study done in deep dark hardwoods with bookshelves on every wall.

"Wow, this reminds me of Granddad's study," she announced as she walked around the outside book-laden walls.

"Miss Possible," he began, but Kim chuckled.

"Please, it's Kim," she replied.

"Kim," he nodded. "I have a question for you," and Jamison asked the question that, he knew, would open up the gates.

--

Monique and Julia Peeples, her roommate, stepped off a rather nice bus at the Mall stop, or so Monique had thought when they got on back near the campus. 'Public transportation: well, at least it's not tubes underground,' Monique thought with an inner grin.

The entire time, though, Monique had to convince Julia to come with her into the store.

"You'll be fine," Monique said one last time as the bus pulled away.

"All right," Julia nodded as she followed Monique into the mall.

Once they made their way inside, Monique quickly and efficiently guided them to the escalator. Riding up to the third level, Monique stepped off and immediately headed to her right.

"Wait!" Julia called as she hurried to catch up, and Monique stopped and turned to face her.

"You know where we're going?"

"Nine stores down, on the right," Monique responded without hesitation, then turned and headed toward her goal, her purse and portfolio in hand.

'How does she…never mind,' Julia grinned inside as she followed as quickly as she could.

Monique turned into the store without checking that Julia was behind her.

"Oh, snap: more probe shoppers, or even worse yet: applicants," the assistant manager mumbled to herself as she watched Monique walk into the story, head for the latest shipment rack, thumb through it quite rapidly, and pull out a blouse.

"Julia: come here," Monique called just as Julia came in the store. Julia walked over and gasped at what Monique had in her hand: the blouse was the most beautiful garment she'd ever seen.

Monique held it up to her front, gave it a critical eye, and then smiled. "GF: it's you; go and try it on," she handed it to her. Julia stared for a moment, and then looked around.

Monique sighed. "At the rear of the store, behind the registers and on the right," she said, and Julia headed down the aisle as the assistant manager, reluctantly, came walking toward Julia.

"Welcome to Club Banana: may I help you?" she smiled at Julia and pointed to the dressing rooms which were just were Monique had said they were when Julia muttered about them, but Monique could see that the manager's smile was painted on and that she was not amused. 'Probably thinks we're student lookers only, or just look for job apps,' she thought as she watched the manager's face as she watched Julia enter a dressing room then started making her way to where Monique was as she looked over several racks of blouses.

When the manager asked is she could help, Monique asked innocently "Yes, have you received the new shipments from Milan?" She knew that the shipments were supposed to be on the floor weeks ago, but she hadn't seen them where the standard floor plans for a Club Banana stated they should be.

"Well, we have," the manager replied, more than a bit patronizingly, "but we've been busy with all of the new students coming in for their first visit to Club B," she crossed her arms over her chest with a smug look hidden behind her smile.

"Well, aren't you lucky?" Monique asked rhetorically.

Julia, just returning from the dressing room, chuckled at Monique's comment. The blouse fit her perfectly, and she felt like a million.

Monique looked up and smiled broadly. "GF, that blouse is screaming your name: that new look is so you," she said, eliciting a nod from Julia and a surprised look from the manager.

"So," Monique continued, turning back to face the manager, "if you're that busy, you must not have filled those extra positions that you got from Corporate. We'll take two of them and solve some of your problems for you," she added with a grin that would have made the Cheshire Cat jell.

"Do you have any retail experience?" the manager asked, fully expecting a BullsEye reject and not thinking about Monique's knowledge of her staffing plans..

"As a matter of fact, I do, and I have a reference," Monique replied, reaching into her purse and pulling out her cell phone.

"We don't take phone references," the manager replied haughtily.

"Oh, it's not a phone reference," Monique replied with a hidden grin. "It's a video: my 'reference' wanted to make certain that you believed who he was." She pulled up the video on her cell phone, punched the play button.

"If you are watching this," the voice boomed from the cell speaker, "Then Monique Jenkins has come into your store and is looking for a job.

"Coco says, 'hire her yesterday,'" and the image on the phone's screen cleared to reveal a smiling Coco Banana, head of the Club Banana empire of stores and all things fashion.

Monique was certain that the manager would need to change her underwear very, very soon.

"Coco says that you would make a major error in judgment by not hiring Miss Jenkins for several reasons, not the least of which is her absolute amazing set of customer service skills. Miss Jenkins could sell my own clothes to me and make me happily pay retail," he laughed, and Julia stood very still and was more than a bit stunned at her good fortune in roommates.

"And, the traffic she will draw to your store when the word gets out that you have one of the people who fought against and helped to defeat the Lowardians… well, Coco says you would be a fool not to snap her up.

"If you are not a Club Banana Manager, Coco says 'Oh, Snap: we didn't grab her when we had the chance,'" Coco smiled. "And, if you are a Club Banana Manager and have any questions about her skills, just pull up her employee number and see how many CB accounts she opened this last year.

"Coco says 'Ciao,'" he laughed. "And Coco says 'Good luck, Miss Jenkins,'" and the video froze with the grinning face of the Club Banana owner.

--

"Dr. Snodgrass, how did you know?" Kim, by now, red-eyed and tear-streaked, was sitting in a chair and holding a box of tissues in her lap. The table next to her had a growing pile of used ones on it. Now, Dr. Snodgrass sat across from her.

"Kim," he smiled, "you don't want to know how many young ladies and men have become infatuated with me," he replied. "Of course, my wife keeps asking me where I hide my pheromone spray," he laughed, "because she still cannot believe that these young people would fall for her old goat of a husband."

"You're not old," Kim shot back, and Dr. Snodgrass shook his head.

"Kim, I'm older than your father," he replied with a knowing smile. "I know: I remember him as a freshman here at MIST when I was a graduate student, mainly because we all loved watching him and his friends when they tried to get dates," he added, and Kim couldn't help but snort out a laugh. "And, thank you, by the way, for believing that I'm not old and for not hurting me," he stood and motioned for her to do the same.

"Hurt you?" she asked, standing and still holding a tissue to dab against her now-red eyes, red from all of the tears.

"Kim, I've watched your 'career' from the news, and I did not relish having you get angry and teach me 1-16 of Kung Fu," he replied matter-of-factly, and Kim couldn't help but smile. "Besides, if I was ever stupid enough to try anything, I'm quite sure you boyfriend would do to me what he did to the Lowardians… if he could find enough left after you and my wife finished up," he added, and this time Kim couldn't hold back her laughter.

"Are we all right, Kim?" he asked, holding out his hand.

Kim took it and shook it. "We are, Dr. Snodgrass, and thank you for not treating me like some young lovesick fool."

"Oh, you're lovesick all right, Kim, but I've seen the ring. Mr. Stoppable is, indeed, a very lucky young man," he added, and Kim couldn't help herself.

She pulled him into a quick hug, the kind that one would give an uncle or grandfather. "Actually, Dr. Snodgrass, I'm the lucky one," she said after she pulled back and smiled. "Besides," she smirked, reaching up and planting a chaste kiss on his cheek, "I'm full of surprises. If I really wanted to hurt you, you'd never feel the pain." Turning, she walked to the door and opened it. "See you later, Doc, and thank you, again," she called over her shoulder. She stopped for a moment, turned, blew him a kiss, giggled, and left the room, closing the door on Dr. Snodgrass.

Kim walked to the front door and headed outside. She was surprised to see the same young woman that she'd met on the way in. "So, you're his daughter," Kim remarked as she pulled the door closed.

"Guilty as charged," she laughed. "Sandra D'Anne Snodgrass, but I go by Sandy," she continued, and smiled when Kim winced. "I know, it's sad, but Mom and Dad have a very perverse sense of the absurd when it comes to their kids."

"Kim Possible," Kim said with a smile as she extended her hand to shake Sandy's.

"I know," she laughed. "Dad let you down easy?"

Kim blushed. "How did you know?" She asked.

"Kim, if I wasn't his daughter, I'd be hitting on Dad: he's a real hunk of a man. You really don't want to know what Mom calls him in private," she grinned.

"TMI," Kim laughed.

"Besides, this happens at least once a semester," Sandy said as she and Kim walked toward Kim's car.

Kim slapped her forehead. "My friends!" she yelled.

"No problem," Sandy replied. "I already took them back in Dad's car. Use the 'rent's gas and save mine," she chuckled.

"Thank you," Kim said.

"Like you say, Kim: 'no big,'" Sandy said as they walked up to Kim's car. Sandy's eyes grew big when she saw Kim's car, and she ran to the front of it and grinned really big. Then, she ran to the back and stared at the rear of the car.

Kim sighed: she knew this reaction.

"Wow, A Sloth SL-1," Sandy's grin was huge. "Let me guess: your dad had it in the garage all these years and gave it to you so he didn't have to buy you a new car, correct?"

"It was this car or work five jobs, all at one time," Kim laughed, remembering her shock when she saw the prices of the cars she wanted.

"Trust me, I heard that," Sandy replied. "I got my grandmother's Gourd when she had to stop driving; at least she'd bought a replacement only four years before she had to stop.

"Let me guess: your Dad tricked out the car, right?"

"Actually, it was the Tweebs that did the deed."

"Tweebs?"

"Twin dweebs: my brothers, Jim and Tim," Kim explained.

"You're so lucky: my brothers almost destroyed the car when they tried to 'help' me with a tune-up: I swear they'd put spark plugs in upside down," Sandy sighed, remembering the smoke that came from the engine before she, figuratively, 'pulled the plug' and stopped the engine before it ground to a permanent halt.

"Not mechanical?" Kim laughed as she opened the door and got in the car.

"As mechanical as a cloud, Kim," she laughed as Kim lowered her window. "They are more musical and artistic than mechanical. I do love them, but don't you dare tell them I said so."

"Same here, and same reaction, Sandy," Kim stuck her hand out. "Sandy, it was nice to meet you, and I hope we can become friends."

"As long as you don't go all 16 kinds on Dad, we'll be cool," Sandy laughed.

"Deal," Kim started the car and headed back to the dorm.

She drove out of the neighborhood, but she didn't head home. She knew where she wanted to go, though: back to their park, back to their swing.

She pulled into the parking lot, turned off the engine, ran out of the car and to the swing, and threw herself into it, the tears having started halfway to the swing.

She went as high as she could, reaching for the sky several times and crying the entire time for what seemed like hours. She finally calmed down, and her swinging went from competition to relaxing. Closing her eyes, Kim gave into the feeling and tuned out everything but the rhythm of the swing and the sounds of the unit to the point that she didn't hear an approaching person.

"I wondered who was attacking the swings," a woman's voice, a voice that brought Kim out of her introspection and back to the real world. Opening her eyes, she noticed that she had been swinging a little higher then she had started when she closed her eyes. On her next back swing, she could see a young woman in a silk blouse, a red scarf around her neck, and a black skirt standing just out of the way.

"Hi, Justine," Kim said as she reached the highest part of her back swing. As she started to swing forward she added "Give me a sec, and I'll…"

She didn't finish as Justine interrupted her, "No, you hang on a sec; I'll join you," and she quickly moved to the empty swing to the right of Kim, sat down, made a small adjustment to her skirt, then she started her own swing after watching Kim make one full swing back and forth.

Kim hadn't made the needed motions to keep her self swinging at the same rhythms and height and was slowing down. In just a moment or two, Justine was matching Kim's motions in perfect sync.

"Remember when we used to do this back in First Grade?" Justine asked as they swung back and forth. "We used to have contests when one of us was upset about something."

Kim could not help a small smile at the young woman beside her on the swing set. Then, her smile got bigger as Justine kicked off her Pradas and sent them flying, continuing to swing and laugh in her his hose-clad feet.

"So, what is it, Kimberly?" she asked, and Kim came down on the forward swing and stuck her feet out to stop. Justine did the same, and she turned to look at Kim.

"You've been crying!" she exclaimed.

Kim nodded. "I did something stupid, Justine," she admitted.

"Well, unless you cheated on Ronald or hit on Steve Barkin, it couldn't be that bad," Justine grinned, and Kim couldn't help but laugh.

"So, is this college-related, Kimberly?" Justine asked, restarting her swing.

"Yes, Professor Snodgrass, to be precise," Kim admitted, and Justine stuck her feet out and came to a screeching stop.

"Professor Snodgrass…" Justine said with a hint of surprise and amazement in her voice. "Chocolate Thunder? You've got 'Chocolate Thunder?'" Justine asked with a grin, and Kim burst out laughing. "Girl, he's the reason I started seriously looking at Mike," Justine's grin turned into a full bore smile. "My very own frozen vanilla pop, Grande-sized, there for the licking," she added, her smile transforming into an evil grin.

"Justine!" Kim stared and laughed at the same time. "TMI!" she shouted.

"What?" Justine laughed. "Jamison IS a hunk, and I had just turned 16 when I first met Chocolate Thunder. Dad was gone, and I was looking for a father figure, anywhere, to hang onto. Well," Justine smiled, "that's what I told myself, anyway.

"Kimberly, you remember what I was like the beginning of junior year, and you remember what I was like the summer between Jr. and Sr. year," and Justine re-started her swinging. "It took my falling in severe like-like with Jamison and him talking to me to help me realize what I was…" Justine got quiet and stopped suddenly, turning to stare at Kim wide-eyed. "Oh, no, you didn't!" she whispered as her right hand cupped her own right check. "You didn't fall for him, too!" she whisper-shouted.

Kim lowered her face and replied, "Uh-huh."

"Well," Justine said as she stood up. Slowly, she closed the distance between them as she walked over to Kim, her stocking-clad feet becoming coated in the playground sand. She gently lifted Kim's face to look into her eyes, "That just confirms, by experimentation, that both of us have great taste in men Kimberly: first Ronald, and now Jamison. Just don't go after Mikey, please and thank you," she said with a smile.

"You're safe, Justine," Kim replied, and the two friends hugged.

--

Kim, sitting in her first college class, couldn't help thinking that 'it's finally starting' when her Kimmunicator gave a 2 second vibration on her wrist letting her know that she had just received a text message. She looked at the display and grinned:

"Kim: We've got to stop meeting like this... Ron and Rufus are starting to talk… ;-) Wade."

The classroom door opened, and Wade entered, carrying his PosComm. Several students snickered as he walked across the front of the class until he stopped at the lecture podium. Kim watched as he opened a laptop that no one had noticed already there and running, and pressed a button either on the computer or the podium that brought up the large screen behind him with an innocuous screen-saver, already up and running: an old-fashioned flying star field, not unlike one from the bridge scene on a Captain Constellation episode.

"Good morning. I'm Dr. Wade Load. Use the keypad on your desk to register your name, please and thank you: that way, I'll know who is here and who to credit for solid responses to my questions." The room was quiet except for the clicking of fingers on the keypads.

After a couple of minutes, Wade's PosComm beeped. He looked at it and smiled. "Thank you. Now, for the opening question: who here can tell me where Grace Hopper is buried?"

Kim grinned but did not respond.

Wade waited for a moment or two then asked "James Bakeson?"

"In her grave," James replied with a smirk.

Wade made a sound like that of a game-show buzzer before replying "Actually, no, but thanks for playing, James," Wade gave a lopsided grin. "Looks like you just earned the first four-page report, due tomorrow, on the life history of Grace Hopper and her contributions to the computational sciences," he added, and James groaned.

"Anyone?" Wade called out, and then he centered his focus in Kim's direction.

Kim punched the button.

"Yes, Miss Possible?" Several heads shot up and craned to see where Kim was sitting.

"Arlington National Cemetery," Kim replied.

"You are correct, Miss Possible," Wade replied.

"That's not fair," James snorted. "You probably fed her the answer with that phone of yours, since you work for her."

"First, Mr. Bakeson," Wade shot back, "I did not feed Miss Possible the answer: it can be found on page 3 of the course syllabus. If you had read the first 25 pages of the class syllabus, which was the pre-work assignment for the start of class, you would have known the answer.

"Second, this is not a phone, it is a PosComm: I built it for my almost-fiancé to use in her activities. Since then, Team Possible has begun to adopt the unit as standard equipment.

"Third, I work for the Institute, not Miss Possible. I have no more reason to give her answers than to give them to you." Wade's smile returned. "Now, if you had legs as good as hers in a skirt," he winked at a now-blushing Kim, "there might be a reason for me to give you favor," his smile now took on an evil tint, "but I doubt that you can pull off the look," and the ladies in the class all hooted.

"And, finally," Wade continued when the ladies quit laughing at the now red-faced James, "I'm a full partner in _**Team Possible**_. I am not a minion, lackey, or henchperson. If you want henchpersons, you can call Jack Hench at _**HenchCo**_: I have his number."

"I don't deserve to be treated like this: I want to transfer to another class, with a different instructor" James snorted, crossing his arms over his chest in what he clearly saw as a victory.

Again Wade made a sound like a game show buzzer, "Sorry, but you lose, again," Wade's smile was now totally evil and would have giving Drakken or Dementor a run for their money. "I'm teaching this class and the other sections of CS1101 for Doctor Jonathan Smith; he's been called to NASA in Houston for a new study on spacecraft design. Besides, I assumed you came to MIST to learn from the best, correct?

"Yeah, why?" he asked, and Kim got ready for the "download" on his head.

"I guess I should take a moment or two and tell you my background, then," Wade replied as he walked around the podium until he was standing in front of the teacher's desk, where he leaned back on it and grinned like the cat that had devoured the canary, whole.

"I have my PhD in Computer Science, a joint PhD in Aeronautical and Particle Physics, and a third PhD in Economics." Kim could see James wince. "By the way, I graduated Summa cum Laude in all three, and I'm currently completing my fourth PhD in Chemistry, specializing in Lowardian chemical compounds. I received the Stinson, B. I. Frey, and the Bernstein-AutoRef awards for artificial intelligence and cyber-robotics, alternate energy solutions research, and economics, respectively." Wade's grin returned to normal as he paused for a second to let what he had just said sink in. "In my spare time I have a couple of partnerships in which I participate, one of which I've already mentioned," he reached over to the podium and pressed a laptop key that shut down the screensaver and brought up, on the overhead screen, two large logos:

_**Team Possible**_; and _**BlazeIT!**_ **Search and Rescue.**

The lack of sound was deafening.

"Now that I have you attention," his evil grin back at full force as he gave a very pronounced pregnant pause, "let me inform you that I'm your worst nightmare." Kim was unable to totally stifle her laugh at the sight of her friend standing there wearing that grin. Wade looked at her and gave her a quick and almost invisible wink before continuing, "…a professor who doesn't care what you think about me. I'm concerned about your capabilities as a student, and I will do everything I can to assist you and make you a success.

"Conversely, I'll nail your rears to the wall if you don't work.

"Can you escape me? As I'm teaching all four sessions of the class this fall, I think your chances of missing me equal slim and none."

Pausing again, Wade looked squarely at James then said "Spring session? Sorry, James, but you lose again: I've got them covered, as well.

"Good luck," he said with a smile as he stood up and moved to the rear of the podium again. The silence in the room was deafening before he spoke again, looking at no one in particular but, at the same time, staring directly at James.

"Now, for something completely different, a general question that I will not hold against anyone: is there anyone here that believes I treated James with anything but respect?"

Kim finally did let out her whole laugh, as did several other students, as the only hand in the room that went up was James'. He looked around and shrank into his chair.

"You all still have to take the mid-term and the final," and the room laughed as one.

"So, how about we continue with a little more CS History?" Wade asked as he popped up the first slide from the syllabus.

'It's started,' Kim thought as she opened her syllabus and pulled out her notebook.

--

**Author's afterward:**

Kim survived her first professorial crush, and no one was hurt.

Classes are starting…and the real fun is about to begin for all.

This will move much faster, so grab a handhold and get ready for a wild ride.

--

Next, on _**Birth, and ReBirth 2: **_**College time Blues: Chapter 6: Frosh Fall**

--

Thank you, to all of you, for supporting all of us on this new journey.

Special thank, especially, to my wonderful beta Star-Eva01, without whom this would not be the story it is. Any errors in this copy are mine.

Thanks again for reading, and please review.

--


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